Protecting City Council

After the shooting at the City Hall in Kirkwood MO reported in Vanguard several weeks ago, it seems as if all the self anointed security experts have jumped in with their opinions. My qualifications have been decided by the Courts that declared me to be an expert witness in these matters. It is with those credentials I address this issue as opposed to some editorials that compare Glendale with Burbank. For the sake of security I will not point out the strategic flaws in the design of the Council Chambers that would preclude the use of magnetometers. There are two excellent resources that I have interacted with, the US Secret Service section of visiting dignitaries and EL AL Airline security.

First let us look at the issue of preventing an ‘attack’ with pre-emption before it occurs and place that issue within the framework of our Civil Rights. The majority of the public already fears the government and in Glendale with a high number of immigrants coming from tyrannical countries, there is a greater fear of the police. Not too long ago at least two members of our community were visited by the Glendale PD investigating their ‘terrorist activities’ because they were asking important questions of City Staff and contractors. [Under the Patriot Act and the Homeland Security legislation many of our civil protections were taken away.] I know both of these people and they have been working diligently toward a ‘more perfect’ Glendale. But the only recent threat that was made towards me was from a fire captain. It was reported to Chief Gray but Gray was unable to show me that this complaint was placed in his subordinates file.

Second we have seen already how the City Manager has taken it upon himself to reduce the opportunity for dissent by prohibiting media with the exception of the Glendale News Press from being made available in the public sections of City Hall. Our City Manager does not encourage debate and that failure is a reason that assailants have given as a trigger. Our Mayor makes a tradeoff of cuts in the line of Oral Communications if you agree to talk less. That leads to frustration. Failure to agendize important community issues leads to frustration. Penalizing people by now allowing them to be heard leads to frustration. There is no opportunity for public debate and that causes frustration.

The problems I have seen of physicality have come from dais not the public. The public comes armed with words and other devices such as signs and placards, cameras and microphones to make their presentations. As you will recall the issue of a code of conduct was directed to the dais not the public.

Other editorial writers would say ban guns, do strip searches, harden the target, keep people ut that don’t work for the City, hire more police, contract with security firms, and Make the Glendale Civic Center an armed camp. I say to them, “let’s not chase away the Constitution by inciting the public, let’s rationally plan that which is reasonable and unobtrusive.”

There are methods to secure the area without denigrating or abrogating our Civil Rights.

The only way to make sure people you agree with can speak is to support the rights of people you don't agree with. Eleanor Holmes Norton