Police watching for election unrest

Political partisan tensions have been heightened across the country for several reasons. President Donald Trump has refused to agree to a peaceful succession to a Joe Biden administration if he were to lose the election. His supporters surrounded a Biden campaign bus in Texas — one of several incidents leading to law enforcement investigations — and on Sunday night, Trump tweeted that they were doing nothing wrong.

Police departments, hospitals and business owners are keeping an eye out for any indication of possible unrest arising from the election.

As of Monday, several law enforcement agencies reported no signs of discord in Connecticut. But with reports of possible uprisings in other states, some say they’re taking no chances, and are slightly increasing patrols and levels of monitoring.

Stamford Assistant Police Chief Thomas Wuennemann said the department “may hire a couple of extra officers for patrols just in case.” He said there has been “no actionable evidence” of any organized events planned for Stamford as of Monday afternoon.

“We’re paying attention to the same news media that everybody else is,” he said, adding that officers will be hired to monitor the polling locations, as is standard practice on Election Day in the city.

Nordstrom boarded up windows or planned to do so at some of the its more than 300 U.S. stores, several media outlets reported. The company did not respond to questions about its Connecticut operations and as of mid-afternoon Monday, there was no sign of boarding or other heightened security at the Nordstrom at the SoNo Collection mall in Norwalk.

Neither Nordstrom nor a spokesperson for SoNo Collection responded to emails inquiring about security plans.

Political partisan tensions have been heightened across the country for several reasons. President Donald Trump has refused to agree to a peaceful succession to a Joe Biden administration if he were to lose the election. His supporters surrounded a Biden campaign bus in Texas — one of several incidents leading to law enforcement investigations — and on Sunday night, Trump tweeted that they were doing nothing wrong.

Instead, Trump said in the tweet, authorities should investigate “the terrorists, anarchists, and agitators of ANTIFA, who run around burning down our Democrat run cities and hurting our people!”

He was referring to Black Lives Matter protests around the country after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis May 25, which led to some incidents of property destruction.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, absentee ballots cast are high everywhere, incuding 600,000 in Connecticut, about one-third of the expected total turnout. It’s possible there will not be a clear winner for the presidential election on Tuesday night, further heightening tensions.

In Connecticut, there was some concern about the Republican Party’s call for an “army” of poll checkers, but J.R. Romano clarified that that was only about people to help collect names for voters’ lists on Election Day.

As for “taking this to the streets,” Romano said Monday, “We have not seen that over-thetop rhetoric from Republicans.”

At his daily press briefing Monday, Gov. Ned Lamont said that though he’s heard of local businesses taking “preventative measures” such as boarding up storefronts, he doesn’t foresee any unrest on Election Day, or thereafter.

“It is not going to happen in Connecticut. Connecticut is going to respect the power of the vote and we’re going to respect the decisions,” he said.

Just in case, Lamont said the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection will monitor social media “very closely” for signs of any discord.

Trooper First Class Christine Jeltema said Monday that the state police has been monitoring and providing information to local and state agencies ahead of

Election Day regarding any possible concerns.

Jeltema said troopers are prepared to help any of their local agency partners with “what their needs may be” on Tuesday.

State Attorney General William Tong, who won court victories over challenges to Connecticut voting plans in recent weeks and months, said Monday, “I don’t expect to see anything like what we’re hearing about from other parts of the country.”

Kelly Moore, policy counsel for the ACLU of Connecticut, told the CT Mirror that “private actors” showing up at the polls in an intimidating way could lead to conflicts that bring in police.

“The police presence could be seen as a political presence by people who are there to vote,” Moore told The Mirror, and could alienate people of color.

In Norwalk, Lt. Jared Zwickler said the police department has plans in place for possible unrest, including stationing officers at polling locations. Hartford police are actively monitoring social media platforms for any indication of unrest, officials there said Monday.

“We have officers assigned to several polling locations, as well as roving details during polling, and immediately following,” Hartford Police Lt. Paul Cicero said.

For hospitals, although no specific preparations were in place in some of the major networks across the state, officials said they’re ready for anything.

Dana Marnane, a spokesperson for the Yale New Haven Health system — which includes Bridgeport, Greenwich, Lawrence & Memorial and Yale New Haven hospitals — said, “We constantly train and are prepared 24/7 for any community emergency, regardless of circumstance.”

Hospitals communicate more intensely with law enforcement “in times of heightened stress,” the Connecticut Hospital Association said in a written statement.

“These systems are in place, well-rehearsed and ready to be quickly activated if a need arises. While prepared, we hope such a need does not arise and encourage all eligible voters in our state to exercise their right to vote.”

Experts in global conflict told NPR last week that current conditions in the United States make the country ripe for conflict.