Topic: Metal Detectors

City Council re-convenes with heightened security screening

By Christine Anne Piesyk | October 16, 2007 |

In the aftermath of the tragic Bo Ward suicide several weeks ago, the City Council convened for the first time in new but temporary quarters to finish the prior agenda and continue managing the city’s business.

On. Oct 4, after a ruling to table a zone change request, Ronald ‘Bo’ Ward, claiming the decision had ruined him financially, pulled a handgun from his trouser pocket and shot himself before the Council and an audience of about 50 people.

I empathize with those who witnessed this tragedy; early in my career I was in a courtroom — in the days when security and metal detectors weren’t even on the radar — when a gunman began waving a weapon in open court. I hit the floor as police stormed the courtroom and wrestled the gun away, arresting its owner. With years of “police beat” and “court beat” behind me, it sadly no longer surprises me when tragedy strikes. I don’t like it, but it is not a surprise.

So it came to pass that Mayor Johnny Piper, with good cause, permanently closed the former Chambers and sought new quarters. So it came to pass that attendees at Monday’s City Council meeting were screened via metal detectors, but according to reports purses and cell phones were not allowed in chambers.

While I empathize with the need for security, I could not help but find the concept of withholding of purses from chambers a bit over the top in the paranoia department. And a bit discriminatory. «Read the rest of this article»

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