Conn. Capitol Shut Over ‘Gun’ Report

A seven-hour lock-down of the state Capitol complex was triggered when a film crew’s camera was mistaken for a gun, Capitol police said Thursday.

Neal Thomassen and Eric Bailey, employees of a state teachers union, were on the top level of the Legislative Office Building parking garage about 1 p.m. Wednesday, shooting footage for a cable TV show.

That’s when two women, who were sitting in the legislative building’s cafeteria, told police they saw a man dressed in dark clothes on the roof with what appeared to be a machine gun.

The reports came on the first day of the annual legislative session, minutes after Gov. John Rowland finished his State of the State speech, and led police to lock down portions of the Capitol complex for more than six hours.

No weapon or gunman was found, said Sgt. J. Paul Vance, a state police spokesman.

Thomassen, who was wearing a black peacoat, said he shot 38 seconds of footage from the garage using a hand-held camera. He and Bailey had registered with the Capitol police.

After the lock-down began, the Connecticut Federation of Educational and Professional Employees called police to say their cameraman may have been mistaken for a gunman, Rowland said.

Lawmakers, including House Majority Leader David Pudlin, accused police of overreacting. Dozens of officers responded to the incident, which made national news.

But House Speaker Moira Lyons said police did an excellent job.

“It’s always easy to criticize after the fact, but the first issue is safety,” Lyons said.

Despite the false alarm, the women who reported the incident did the right thing, Rowland said.

“I hope people will still be on their toes and still report anything suspicious they see.”