Protests but also hugs on convention’s quiet last day

Protesters argue in Public Square on Thursday, July 21, 2016, in Cleveland, during the final day of the Republican convention.

Supporters watch Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speak on a outdoor screen in downtown on Thursday, July 21, 2016, in Cleveland, during the final day of the Republican convention.

Trump said Cleveland police were doing “an incredible job”. Most crowds numbered in the hundreds, not the thousands.

Gone were protesters yelling into bullhorns and a stage set up for demonstrators was empty for the first time all week.

A Cleveland officer and a Georgia state trooper were treated for a mysterious skin irritation, police said, amid reports that protesters were putting stickers on police that caused a burning sensation.

Williams and police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said they would release the video with permission from Trump’s campaign.

“We didn’t know what to expect hearing everything on the news”, he said. He said that for the most part, observers saw police conducting themselves properly.

Authorities say most are free on personal recognizance bonds with some accused of flag burning still not charged while prosecutors review charges. Cleveland police indicated that two troopers were transported to MetroHealth for an unknown illness, but they do not believe it is related to the stickers. By Thursday evening, law enforcement officers appeared to relax.

Syringes were added to a list of items banned in the protest zone around the convention over concerns that officers could be targeted. By the end of the convention, those who entered the Public Square with weapons were mostly ignored.

In a joint statement released Wednesday night, Williams and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said 18 arrests had been made over the course of the day.

City officials said that the syringes will be confiscated on a case-by-case basis in the event that a person has a medical condition.

There were tense moments and some angry words as anarchists, anti-Muslim protesters and pro-capitalist groups filled the downtown Public Square, but most people seemed to get along.

Police have formed a barricade using their bikes between different groups.

Several other officers gathered around to listen in on Trump’s compliments.

Early in the afternoon, about 150 protesters carrying signs saying “Ban All Trumps Not Muslims” and chanting “Love Trumps Hate” marched across a bridge leading into downtown. Seventeen of the arrests came Wednesday, during a melee that erupted during a flag-burning outside an entrance to the convention arena.

Before the RNC, some Cleveland business owners were a little uneasy.

A lot of downtown offices told their employees to take vacation during the convention or to work from home.

Cleveland police originally said 17 people were arrested Wednesday.

Meanwhile, organizers of the flag-burning denied on Thursday that the man holding the American flag was on fire and said police used that as an excuse to move in. She says the group will hold another protest Thursday.

So far, there have been very few run-ins with police and protesters since the start of the Republican National Convention Monday.

The demonstrations grew in size ahead of Trump’s appearance at the convention to accept his party’s nomination for president.

The four-day convention has been a challenge for police, who have arrested 22 people.

After a week of protests, there have only been about 23 arrests. According to the police scanner, officers planned to charge the unidentified suspect with assault of a police officer.

Two officers were assaulted and suffered minor injuries, police said.