Cincinnati City Council wants to see security improvements at City Hall. A committee passed a motion Tuesday asking the administration to review safety procedures and recommend potential improvements.
The move comes a couple weeks after someone was arrested in chambers during a meeting, and charged with sneaking a sword into the building. The sword was inside a cane, in what's known as a sword stick.
Council member Ryan James introduced the motion and says that’s not the only incident of concern.
"Our constituents are always welcome to have one on one conversations with us as electeds, but we actually had an individual who refused to leave my office," James said.
Other Council members say they’ve been the target of online threats and harassment. Council member Anna Albi says she's concerned about a broader issue.
"We have our employees who are going out and engaging in community engagement sessions where they're being verbally harassed and targeted as well," Albi said. "I think beyond the safety protocols, to me this is about the bigger conversation of how do we kind of turn the temperature down on some of the really combative and negative rhetoric out there, and really just come together as a community."
Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney says this is about keeping the public safe, as well.
"It's not just us," she said. "We want people to be able to come here, express themselves and be safe in doing so."
Currently, visitors to City Hall must sign in with two private security officers at the main entrance, walk through a metal detector, and belongings must go through a scanner.
Metal detectors have been part of building security for about 10 years. They were first installed from late 2003 until early 2006, when former Mayor Mark Mallory had them removed. They returned in 2015 after a man drove a pickup truck up to the front steps of the building and asked to meet with the mayor.
A couple years ago, a security officer was stationed outside City Council offices on the third floor. That was soon eliminated due to budget cuts.
"I know that the security protocols on the third floor specifically have ebbed and flowed," Council member James said. "I'm not advocating for any particular policy being enacted here."
The motion will be up for a final Council vote Wednesday. It asks for a report within 15 days.
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