Robert Lowery had metal detectors installed in Florissant City Hall when he became mayor eight years ago, to ward off any vengeful felons from his previous tenure as the city's police chief.

Lowery's not sure if extra security has stopped any muggers or murderers looking for him.

But he rests a bit easier whenever City Council meetings get disrupted by someone angry about a neighbor's dog, a ticket from a red-light camera, trash that didn't get picked up on time or any of the other issues, great and small, that rouse residents.

"Every city has people who are really on the edge," said Lowery, 69. "We have 25 or 30 who are convinced that everything bad that's happening to them is the government's fault. And the closest government to them is City Hall."

In Kirkwood on Thursday night, Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton was the man on edge — and armed.

Thornton used a revolver to fatally shoot Kirkwood Police Sgt. William Biggs outside City Hall. Then, he grabbed Biggs' .40-caliber handgun and walked into the council chambers with both weapons.

Within minutes, he had killed five people — Biggs, police Officer Tom Ballman, Councilwoman Connie Karr, Councilman Michael H.T. Lynch and Public Works Director Ken Yost — before Kirkwood officers fatally shot Thornton.

The rampage prompted security reviews at government buildings across the region.

NO GUARANTEES

Crystal City, Maplewood and Granite City are among those considering adding police officers at public meetings.

Fairview Heights and O'Fallon, Mo., are weighing upgrading to airport-level security in the mode of Florissant.

Others, such as the city halls of St. Louis and St. Peters, have had metal detectors for years.

The devices were removed from the state Capitol in Jefferson City in 2003. But Gov. Matt Blunt's budget proposal for this year calls for reinstating them.

Capitol Police Chief Todd Hurt said Friday that he was asking for $228,000 to set up three metal detectors and two X-ray conveyor belts at the Capitol's south entrance.

But leaders of smaller cities say budget constraints and the isolated nature of such shootings do not justify the expense of metal detectors and overtime pay for police to supervise them.

Besides, said Brentwood Mayor Pat Kelly, metal detectors don't guarantee safety.

"If someone is really intent on doing harm, and if they know there's a metal detector, my feeling is that they'll just do it in the parking lot," said Kelly, 49.

As mayor for eight years and an alderman for seven years before that, Kelly has sat through numerous outbursts by angry residents at council meetings, including one over eminent domain in the 1990s.

Cooler heads prevailed, but the incident left Kelly shaken.

"We didn't even have one police officer at this meeting, and a couple of people were getting pretty angry," he said.

"I knew that these individuals had a history in the community of causing trouble. And I hate to say it, but it was in the back of my mind that something bad was going to happen.

"But again, there's no absolute safeguard. What are we going to do, put everyone behind a bulletproof glass wall so that we can't communicate on a personal basis? It infringes on the notion of a free society."

Festus City Administrator Steve Stoll concurred.

He said no major changes were planned in that city's security at public meetings.

Stoll noted that hundreds of public meetings take place nightly throughout the state. Unpredictable violence, he said, "is one of those things that it's hard to protect yourselves against."

Edwardsville and St. Louis County declined to discuss their security plans.

In 2003, St. Louis County employed such low-tech measures as bolting discarded bullet-resistant vests to the underside of the council table to guard against potential terrorist attacks.

For now, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley said, the county will continue to have at least two uniformed police officers at all council meetings.

The St. Charles County Council holds its meetings without visible security. Council Chairman Dan Foust said that was the way he preferred it.

"If it's left up to me we're going to continue to do business as usual," Foust said. "There's no way a metal detector is going to save you if someone is determined to kill you."

Jefferson County Commissioner Pat Lamping said he was hesitant to take any measures that would hamper freedom of speech.

"The question is, (security) at what cost?" he said. "You really don't want to limit the public's access to their elected officials, but at the same time, some issues are very controversial and can bring an emotional response."

A CRITIC SPEAKS

Arnie Dienoff, of Bellefontaine Neighbors, estimates he has attended more than 800 city and school district meetings over the past decade.

He says he speaks at nearly every one.

He is often critical of leaders and has had police escort him from the public podium on several occasions.

"I'm a big believer in open government," Dienoff said. "People need to address the boards in a calm, cool and collected manner.

"On the other hand, officials have to have an open ear to hear from all people involved. That doesn't always happen. Some leaders don't want to hear criticism."

Among those leaders, he said, was former Riverview Gardens School District Superintendent Henry Williams. Dienoff began accusing Williams at public meetings several years ago of felony theft — and got himself ejected in the process.

Last year, prosecutors charged Williams with that crime, along with tax evasion.

"What I would hate to see is a backlash from Kirkwood that would cause some cities to deny people their rights," Dienoff said.

1,800 MILES AWAY

Within minutes of Thursday night's shootings, the cell phone of Riverside, Calif., Mayor Ron Loveridge began ringing with the news.

The report was hauntingly similar to the terror that swept through his own city hall the night of Oct. 6, 1998.

"Just a few minutes before our meeting was to begin, a gunman came into the board room," Loveridge said. "He fired 20 or 25 shots."

Loveridge was among five people wounded in the attack by a man who had sued the city, claiming age and racial discrimination.

Soon after the shootings, the city's government voted to install metal detectors — over Loveridge's objections.

"I opposed airport-type security because I don't think local governments can function properly under a siege mentality," said Loveridge, 69, who has since recovered.

Three years later, he led the drive that removed the metal detectors.

"I recognized that the attack was an aberration that should not dictate how we go about our lives."

But to this day, he said, "When I hear a loud noise, my first reaction is to dive for cover."

Tim Bryant, Terry Hillig, Robert Kelly, Angie Leventis and Virginia Young of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

phampel@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8242