Associated Press
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Police and legislative officials have concluded that there were several lapses in law enforcement’s response to a reported gunman at the state Capitol complex on Feb. 6.
A report given to lawmakers on Wednesday says authorities did not notify some employees of the Legislative Office Building that the building was being evacuated and never used a public address system to direct hundreds of people who were locked down inside the Capitol.
The report, obtained by The Hartford Courant, was written by Capitol Police Chief Bill Morgan and D’Ann Mazzocca, executive director of legislative management. The document was not released to the public.
Morgan and Mazzocca gave high marks to the police agencies that responded in what became the largest law enforcement mobilization in Connecticut since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
But the report acknowledged several lapses in the police response, including uneven enforcement of the lockdown and a lack of communication between police and leaders and staff of the legislature.
“The events of (Feb. 6) should be viewed as a positive experience for all the police departments involved and the legislators, staff and guests,” Morgan wrote in a five-page report. “The fact that no one was injured or hurt by the events as they unfolded was the most important statistic.”
Legislative leaders requested the report. Some top lawmakers criticized the way in which the lockdown and evacuation were handled and wanted police to use the incident to develop better procedures for security threats.
Officials estimate that nearly 600 people were evacuated from the Legislative Office Building and another 1,000 people were locked down in the Capitol.
The gunman turned out to be videographer Neal Thomassen and his camera, police said Thursday. Thomassen and Eric Bailey, employees of a state teachers’ union, were on the roof of the Legislative Office Building parking garage shooting footage for a cable access show at about 1 p.m.
Two women who were sitting in the LOB cafeteria told police they saw a man dressed in dark clothes on the roof with what one said looked like a machine gun.
The reports came on the first day of the annual legislative session, minutes after Gov. John G. Rowland finished his State of the State speech, and led police to lock down portions of the Capitol complex for more than six hours.
Morgan said police had never practiced for an evacuation of the Capitol complex, and he recommended that state and local police prepare for future responses by taking part in joint training sessions.
Morgan also acknowledged a lack of communication between his office, legislative leaders and staff members. He said the problem could be corrected by making use of public address systems, e-mails and a formal chain of contact.
Capitol police had no problems communicating with Hartford officers, but did have trouble communicating with state police, who brought in SWAT teams and a helicopter to search the complex, Morgan said. Capitol police and armed military police officers at the adjoining state Armory did not communicate enough by radio, he said.
Mazzocca, in a memo accompanying Morgan’s five-page report, said the incident “provides us with a remarkable learning experience that we plan to take full advantage of.” Mazzocca heads the office that oversees the Capitol complex.
Library and maintenance workers in the basement were not notified by police that the building was being evacuated, Mazzocca said. And during the lockdown, some people were seen leaving the buildings and grounds when all doors should have been secured, potentially putting themselves in the line of fire of a sniper, had there been one, Mazzocca said.
Legislative leaders and Gov. John G. Rowland have said they were generally pleased with the way the Capitol police handled the incident.