The Tucson Police Department assigned 180 officers to provide security for Donald Trump’s political rally downtown — the largest contingent of officers assigned to the three political events in Tucson leading up to election day.
In total, the department assigned 279 officers to the three separate election rallies held, with the city initially picking up the $133,163 tab to maintain the peace at the events for the presidential candidates.
The city will bill the campaigns of Trump, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton for reimbursement, said Sgt. Kimberly Bay, a spokeswoman for the department.
The Trump rally, which saw hundreds of protesters outside of the Tucson Convention Center and several disruptions during the GOP frontrunner’s speech, was the most expensive of the three events.
Several violent incidents occurred during the Saturday afternoon rally, including when a protester being escorted out of the arena was punched and kicked by a Trump supporter, who was arrested.
Records requested by the Arizona Daily Star show the department staffed the rally with a total of 180 officers, who worked, on average, 6½ hours as part of the rally. The police department estimates the total cost to provide security was $81,838. One estimate suggests the Trump rally had more than 5,000 supporters at the TCC.
A night earlier, TPD assigned 76 officers to a rally organized for Sanders, also held at the TCC.
The cost to the department for the Sanders rally was $44,013, records indicate. Crowd estimates suggest Sanders had about 7,000 people attend the Friday-night event.
The rally for Clinton on Sunday had the smallest number of officers staffing security. Hillary Clinton did not attend, but former President Bill Clinton stumped for his wife at Sunnyside High School. A total of 23 officers were assigned to the Clinton rally, which cost the city $7,312. About 1,400 people attended the event.
