Protesters at the last Democratic National Convention in Denver likened the host city to a police state, where heavily armed officers stood on street corners dressed in riot gear.
For Charlotte in 2012, some fear the security will be even tighter for a Democratic convention almost certain to renominate a sitting president, who'll require more protection than when he was only a candidate in 2008.
Next September's convention will be the most expensive security event the city has ever organized. More than $55 million is expected to be spent on manpower and equipment. The U.S. Secret Service is hammering out a plan in closed-door meetings with law enforcement agencies.
Federal, state and city officials are not the only ones planning. Activists opposed to wars, abortion, the banks and corporate malfeasance are developing their agendas. "We'll be there," said Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the anti-war group Code Pink. "We have greater inequality. A huge fiscal crisis. There is just a real movement that's just waiting to mushroom."
Police officials are already monitoring anarchists groups. But most demonstrators expect peaceful protests and say any problems would likely be the result of isolated extremists or heavy-handed officers.
Rick Starnes, coordinator for the Cabarrus Tea Party Coalition, expects thousands of people to protest President Barack Obama at the convention over the lack of jobs, excessive government spending and taxes.
"I think the DNC made a mistake coming into the South," he said. "We're seeing Obama losing the popularity he had two years ago. It's going to be a hornet's nest of activity."
In Denver, officials came under criticism for setting up a free-speech area far from the Pepsi Center. It was largely ignored by protesters, who referred to the fenced-in lot as the "freedom cage."
Many are curious where security officials will set up Charlotte's free-speech zone. How accessible will it be to Time Warner Cable Arena, where the convention will take place?
"Every year you see these protest zones being pushed further and further out from the convention zones," said Glenn Spagnuolo, a co-founder of Recreate-68, which led several anti-war and government malfeasance protests in Denver. "What happens in the street is part of the politics. And the police are the first line to try and suppress that."
Secret Service spokesman Max Milien said demonstrators will have opportunities to share their views.
In Denver, even some officials questioned whether the security effort was too much. During the filming of the documentary "Convention," Chantal Unfug, a mayoral assistant, complained to producers.
"If I was a citizen down here this weekend, I would not want to come back," she said on camera. "Between the helicopters, the SWAT teams, and all the police on horseback with riot gear...makes you think something is about to go wrong."
More cops on the way
The reality is that protests in Denver were low-key compared with other conventions.
While the police were criticized by some demonstrators for overkill, others praised them for keeping problems to a minimum. A warehouse that police converted into a holding facility remained largely empty. Only about 150 people were arrested in Denver, compared with more than 800 arrests a week later at the GOP convention in St. Paul.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg police force is expected to add an estimated 2,400 to 3,400 officers from outside departments for the four-day event. Some have received special crowd control training from the Department of Homeland Security.
Mayor Anthony Foxx said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe's background is an asset. Monroe coordinated security with other federal agencies as commander of the special events unit with the Washington Metropolitan Police Department.
"That's a huge X-factor for us," Foxx said. "The chief is used to the logistical challenges of moving dignitaries around, the protocol associated with national and international security agencies. He talks the language. He knows the drill."
'Once in a lifetime'
Deputy Chief Harold Medlock, who is coordinating the Charlotte police effort, said many CMPD officers also have experience with national security events, having volunteered to assist in Washington at inaugurations and international events, such as the G-8 summit. He called the convention a "once in a lifetime" opportunity for many of the officers.
Uptown office buildings have begun looking into hiring extra security and conducting risk assessment reviews, according to Ross Bulla, of the security company Treadstone Group.
Protest groups expect to rely on social media websites to boost their numbers during marches and rallies. But Spagnuolo said he is also concerned how law enforcement might use the technology.
Last month, San Francisco officials cut cellphone service at train stations to prevent a protest against a police shooting. In 2009, New York activist Elliot Madison, who had been listening to a police scanner in his hotel room, was arrested in Pennsylvania after using a social media website to spread information about police movements during the G-20 summit.
"We were relying on that to let us know where the police were at and what they were doing," Spagnuolo said. "And they shut his account down."
Reporter Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and staff researcher Maria David contributed.
