Supervisors’ Security Measures

In response to your editorial “Bulletproof but Not Joke-Proof,” Oct. 11:

Security after the fact is no security at all. Ask the families of the late San Francisco supervisor and the mayor, Harvey Milk and George Moscone.

Yes, four members of the Board of Supervisors use armor-protected cars--myself, Mike Antonovich, Gloria Molina and Ed Edelman. Yes, the hearing room does have security measures; beginning several years ago with the now-infamous ink blotters, then the protective chair backs, then even more recently the addition of metal detectors and the security glass at the front of the room.

Why? Because militant special interest groups have become more and more destructive. Where once a single sheriff’s deputy was enough to assure crowd control, often as many as 10 must be assigned, and at times far more deputies were required to handle groups bent on disruption or being arrested--or worse.

You only have an instant to know if the object being pulled from a pocket by a militant is paint (which has been thrown in the board room) or a gun. Once the trigger is squeezed it’s too late to start thinking about security.

Supervisors have received numerous threats. We travel thousands of miles each year in our respective districts, meeting with and working with the people at all hours of the day and night. Each time we, and all other public officials, expose ourselves to the worst-case scenario; not from the vast majority of the public, but from the wild-eyed few.

Those who ignore that reality will have kind words written and said about them--at their funeral.

DEANE DANA, Los Angeles County Supervisor