Hawaii State Capitol to get metal detectors after lawmakers and aides say they don’t feel safe
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/07/2023 (1180 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
HONOLULU (AP) — The Hawaii State Capitol will have metal detectors installed at three entrances starting July 10, state agencies said Monday.
The detectors will be in place at two street-level elevator entrances to the building and at one basement entrance. The building will remain open to the public.
The metal detectors are an “added layer of security” that will make the Capitol a safer place, the director of the state Department of Public Safety said in a statement.
House Speaker Scott Saiki said he supports the enhanced security because people “feel unsafe” in the building.
“For many years, we have received concerns not just from legislative members, but also from legislative staff and visitors to the building, about the need for more security,” the Democrat said in a brief phone interview.
Saiki credited Keith Regan, the head of the Department of Accounting and General Services, the agency that manages state buildings, for the new equipment.
He said lawmakers have appropriated money for additional security over the years but that Regan was the one “who’s finally been able to create a security program for us.”
Asked if a specific incident prompted calls for more security, Saiki said a deputy sheriff fatally shot a man near the Capitol in 2019 but that there have also been others.
In the shooting, the Department of Public Safety said the man ignored the sheriff’s directions to throw out the alcohol he was drinking and leave the Capitol grounds. The man then became physically combative and a struggle ensued, during which the deputy fired his weapon while the two were in close contact. The man died of a gunshot wound to the back.
Arekat Pacific Security, Inc., which does business as API Security, has been awarded a contract to administer the metal detectors.
State officials say 37 other state capitols already have metal detectors.