Lily Leung
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 16, 2008 08:20 AM
When Surprise Mayor Lyn Truitt took office early this year, his natural instinct, he said, was to ensure the safety of his council members and the residents who attend City Council meetings.
As a result, Truitt met with Surprise Police Chief Daniel Hughes to put together a security plan in the event an angry citizen posed a threat to officials or attendees.
The plan, Truitt said, carries even more significance after an incident in suburban St. Louis last week, in which a gunman killed two police officers, three city officials and wounded the mayor at a city council meeting.
The gunman, Charles “Cookie” Thornton, who maintained a longtime dispute with the city, was shot dead by police.
“I was shocked and saddened,” Truitt said. “Immediately, I speculated how many of those people truly had nothing to do with the issue at hand and had lost their lives. (I wondered) how many families were impacted by that act of violence.”
Truitt concedes there have been heated Surprise City Council meetings in the past, but he does not recall anyone having to be escorted from the chambers.
Still, Hughes briefed Truitt and council members on a detailed security plan with what-if scenarios as a safety precaution.
The police chief also put together a security strategy for the new City Hall, which is being built on a 10-acre site near Litchfield and Bell roads. The facility will have a 134,000-square-foot, four-story building that will hold most city staff and the City Council chambers.
“We wanted to get his input for strategies to keep the people safe, employees safe, the council safe,” Truitt said.
As mayor, Truitt follows a protocol when dealing with agitated residents: If a resident acts out of order, then he will gavel once and give a verbal warning. If the behavior continues, he will gavel again and issue another warning.
By the third gavel, a break is taken to allow the resident to leave peacefully, he said. If the resident does not comply, then police officers will escort the resident out.
Anything thereafter, Truitt said, is taken care of by police.
Typically, one police officer is present in the council chamber during a City Council meeting and another is outside, in addition to the police chief’s presence, he said.
Surprise police do not disclose details of their security plan, given its sensitive nature.
However, Sgt. Randy Rody, a police spokesman, said the agency’s top priority is to take the appropriate measures to ensure incidents such as the one in Missouri do not happen here.
“We want to maintain the peace and ensure that the proceedings take place without interruption,” Rody said.
Truitt said his best strategy to avoid escalated confrontations is to simply allow residents to vent.
“As long as people are courteous, I let them speak,” he said.
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