Shortly after two in the afternoon on July 16, a man who appears to have been suffering from mental illness, walked into the office of Gov. Bill Ritter in Denver, Col., carrying a loaded .357 and declaring himself “emperor.” He also carried extra ammo and a knife.
After refusing a state trooper’s order to drop his weapon and stop his advance, he was shot dead. Two shots to the chest and one to the head. Gov. Ritter was in another room in the governor’s suite, heard the shots, but was unhurt. He made it sound like it was all in a day’s work and as we consider the increase in mass public shootings in this country, it may be.
Violent episodes in state capitols and assassination attempts on governors are rare. But the Denver incident shows that security at our own Capitol needs to be improved. The small capitol police force and security guards who protect the complex in Hartford do good work. In addition to the manpower guarding the campus, there is an extensive closed circuit camera system blanketing the building and grounds, that dramatically multiplies the number of eyes watching everything that happens. Still, security is not what it should be.
Not Enough
Since 9/11, extra steps have been taken to improve the situation, but legislators are reluctant to install metal detectors and take other safeguards, because they want to respect the fact that the Capitol is a public building that should be a welcoming place. “We don’t want school kids going through metal detectors and having their backpacks searched,” is the usual answer to calls for better security.
This is a noble argument, but it is naïve. A parent would gladly exchange the inconvenience for the peace of mind of knowing their child is safe.
Setting terrorism aside, we live in a world full of people like the would-be assailant in Colorado; suffering from mental illness, delusional, able to access guns and other weapons, sometimes copycatting the fantasies of others.
The Capitol has the look and feel of a college campus. Everyone knows everyone, there is a feeling of comfort that develops over the course of each legislative session. A false sense of security pervades the building.
The fact is; it would be all too easy for someone with criminal intent to walk in and carry out an act of violence against one person, or a group of people. The same freedom of movement meant to welcome the general public provides the same convenience for potential bad actors.
In recent years, even raising this issue within the Capitol has been considered out of line. If we don’t talk about it, or think about it, it’s not a problem. Al-Qaeda is not targeting the state Senate. There is nothing to worry about.
As we learned with the lottery shooting in 1998, the unthinkable is possible and it can be devastating. In Connecticut in particular, the history of the lottery shooting, coupled with the shared national experience of 9/11, should have forced us long ago to seriously consider the implementation of tighter security measures at the Capitol. The Denver shooting now gives us no excuse to be unprepared.
It is time for legislative leadership, which manages the Capitol and the Legislative Office Building, and the state police, who are charged with protecting the governor, to review the procedures that are in place and tighten them up. The state Capitol was first used by the General Assembly in 1879. Almost 130 years later, we must realize we no longer live in that world and protecting the public that uses the building may require some inconveniences in the name of better security.
Dean Pagani is a former gubernatorial advisor. He is V.P. of Public Affairs for Cashman and Katz Integrated Communications in Glastonbury.
