Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla can see both sides in the disagreement over the police department’s planned construction of a fence around the Law Enforcement Center, she indicated Tuesday.
The mayor appeared at a news conference the city government holds near the end of each month that generally features her and city manager Brent Trout, who wasn’t present Tuesday.
De La Isla responded to a question about the police department’s plans to put up a decorative, 6-foot tall perimeter fence at the Law Enforcement Center, which houses the headquarters for the police department and sheriff’s office at 320 S. Kansas Ave. Critics contend building the fence would send a negative message to the public.
“Is this the ideal situation?” De La Isla said Tuesday. “Absolutely not. We want to make sure that our Law Enforcement Center is a place for the community.”
Still, she said, considerable reason for concern exists — both locally and nationwide — regarding the safety of law enforcement officers.
De La Isla noted that police arrested a man late Friday after he threw a rock through the glass front doors at police headquarters at the LEC.
She added that police aren’t the only ones at the LEC. De La Isla indicated children are exchanged at that facility when their families aren’t getting along, which is another reason security there is important.
“We’ll see how this continues to develop,” she said.
City governing body members earlier this month discussed but took no action regarding plans the police department is formulating to build the fence.
(Read more: News – The Topeka Capital-Journal)