A Richmond City Council member wants to consider reinstalling metal detectors at City Hall in the wake of recent shooting incidents involving a congresswoman in Arizona and a school board in Florida.
"Right now, the way some people's emotions are, maybe we need them," said
Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, who has discussed the matter with Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood.
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Henrico County Sheriff Michael L. Wade said scanning people before meetings of the board of supervisors helps to deter crime and to identify who is carrying a weapon without infringing on Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.
"If something happens and someone jumps out with a gun, you want to know who they are," he said.
Robert A. Gardner, a security consultant based in Santa Paula, Calif., said metal detectors outside public meeting rooms should be considered, but he cautioned that public officials cannot be fully protected.
"If someone is willing to die to commit the assassination, it's almost impossible to stop them," he said.
The heightened concerns come as Richmond's costs of providing police protection for the mayor have increased by 4 percent, from $333,633 in 2009 to $345,568 in 2010, according to the police department.
Although police officers are present at council meetings,
Council President Kathy C. Graziano noted that official duties extend well beyond City Hall.
"If you look at what happened in the Arizona case, the people who were killed weren't public officials," she said. "They were just there. How can you protect yourself from someone who is emotionally unbalanced? I think it's difficult."
