DENVER—Gov. Bill Ritter wants permanent metal detectors and more officers in the state Capitol following the fatal shooting of a gunman outside the governor’s office.
The Capitol didn’t have metal detectors on July 16, when Aaron Snyder, 32, was shot outside Ritter’s first-floor Capitol office.
Investigators said Snyder approached the office with a handgun and declared, “I am the emperor and I’m here to take over state government.” A member of Ritter’s security detail killed him when he refused to back down.
Ritter unveiled several recommendations—drafted with input from Capitol workers and legislative leaders—for better security Tuesday and will submit them to the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee. Among them: requiring state employees to use access-card devices and having more troopers patrol the halls.
Ritter said the $1.6 million plan strikes a balance between security and the building’s traditional openness.
“We will make sure the Capitol building remains open but we will also be taking steps to reduce risk and eliminate the likelihood that a dangerous person can bring a weapon,” he said.
If approved, the changes could be in place in November, before lawmakers convene for their next session in January, said Colorado State Patrol chief Col. Mark Trostel.
Visitors to the Capitol used to be able to enter through several entrances without going through security. After the shooting, the Patrol began requiring visitors to pass through metal detectors and have bags checked at an X-ray machine.
The proposed measures call for two entrances—to the north and south—with metal detectors and X-ray machines at both.
Other proposals not readily apparent to visitors include an increased command center staff, Capitol staffers with radios, and improved emergency communications.
Ritter said the Capitol has some 150 surveillance cameras but that there’s sometimes only one person to monitor them.
Metal detectors, X-ray machines and more security officers also will be added to the Legislative Services Building across the street from the Capitol, where many staffers work.
Ritter said similar precautions are in place at other public buildings, including Denver’s courthouse building and the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building, where Ritter worked as Denver district attorney.
For tourists Sam and Jaime Cannon of Houston, the single entrance and metal detectors were hardly noticeable.
“What security measures?” they asked.
“It’s not like we had to take our shoes off,” Sam Cannon said. “Once we got through them (the metal detectors), that was it. We wandered around the building. Of course, we didn’t try to enter anybody’s office.”
