It’s been one month since a violent exchange outside the downtown Portland Central Library left a man dead, and its impact could bring lasting changes to Multnomah County’s flagship branch.
The county’s Director of Libraries Annie Lewis told the Board of Commissioners Thursday that the downtown branch is weighing major changes to security in and around the building, potentially including metal detectors and bag searches. Lewis said it would be a difficult choice to make.
“Weapons detection in a public library is a really significant measure to take,” Lewis told the board, “and it comes with a lot of risks and implications that would need to be considered.”
The shooting that spurred renewed concerns over safety took place July 1 at Southwest 10th Avenue and Yamhill Street. Police responded to reports of a shooting and arrived to find a man, later identified as 50-year-old Douglas Ivers, with gunshot wounds. Officers eventually tracked down the suspect, identified as 26-year-old Hassan Muse, six blocks from the scene and arrested him.
Ivers was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Muse and Ivers were seen on library surveillance video inside the library shortly before the deadly confrontation, according to court records and police. Detectives suspect both men were armed while in the library, with Muse possessing a firearm and Ivers carrying bear spray, police said.
In the wake of the shooting, officials from the county and city butted heads over who should shoulder the blame and whose responsibility it was to improve security around the library. The two governments have put those differences aside and convened a group of city, county and police bureau leaders to address the crisis playing out around the building, Lewis said. That team includes police Chief Bob Day’s Chief of Staff Robert King, the city’s Director of Community Safety Stephanie Howard, Lewis and the county’s Workplace Security Director Dorothy Elmore, among others.
The county has already heightened security at the branch since the shooting, adding more security officers, limiting Wi-Fi access after hours and adding 24-hour security camera monitoring outside the building, Lewis said.
Police have also upped bike squad patrols in the area, King said. He told commissioners that the police bureau is working to reduce crime in the blocks surrounding the building, which fall under the city’s purview.
“We’re just continuing to look for ways innovatively and collaboratively to address all these issues,” he said.
County officials are now considering the cost and consequences of adding metal detectors. Rough estimates show a weapons detection system and staff to man it could cost upwards of $750,000 per year, Lewis said. Installing metal detectors would require a vote from the board and new policies to comply with state law on authorized administrative searches, according to Lewis.
It could also create a barrier for homeless individuals, who often bring their belongings with them into the library, Lewis said.
“We would likely need to limit the number and size of bags that come into the Central Library, which has very significant implications for our unhoused community — many of whom use our public library every day very successfully and peacefully,” Lewis said.
The library could also temporarily remove the benches at the front of the building, install vapor sensors in restrooms to detect smoking of illicit drugs and bolster access to on-site behavioral health resources, according to Lewis.
Lewis will come back before the board in September to share more details on what enhanced security at the Central Library could look like.
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