A woman also was seen being arrested as she sought to burn a second flag.
Police arrested at least five people Wednesday outside the Republican National Convention in Cleveland as clashes erupted when protesters tried to burn American flags.
"Protesters refusing dispersal orders, pushing officers. A few arrests," the Cleveland Police Department posted on Twitter.
Police Sergeant Jennifer Ciaccia later confirmed at least five people were arrested.
Two officers were "assaulted" and suffered minor injuries, the police department said.
Tensions flared on the streets just one block from Quicken Loans Arena where Republicans anointed Donald Trump as their party's 2016 presidential nominee, as a man believed to have burned a flag was confronted by a counter-protester.
A group calling itself the Revolution Club sent out a press release earlier saying that Joey Johnson, a "notorious flag burner and revolutionary communist," would conduct the disobedience in Cleveland.
Security forces, including horse-mounted police, closed ranks around the protesters, and several detained people were seen kneeling with their hands behind their backs.
A woman also was seen being arrested as she sought to burn a second flag. Police intervened and tussled with protesters as an officer snatched away the singed flag. People chanted "Let her go!" as the woman was led away by police.
Demonstrations have taken place mostly peacefully in the city during the week of the convention, although scuffles have broken out during some protests.
Police have been on alert in the Ohio city, and security was ramped up dramatically for the week of the Republican convention in the wake of the recent killings of police officers in Dallas, Texas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.