Last week, a gunman who had a long-standing dispute with his association over deed restrictions, shot and killed one person and critically wounded a second at his association’s meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. The incident occured during an association meeting being held in a community church. This, as well as the other violence we’ve seen occuring in associations, has to make board members think about their safety. What can and should be done to ensure that board members are safe? As we all know in today’s world violence is random and little can be done to control when and where it strikes. But some things for board should consider if there are concerns with safety are:
- Holding meetings in public locations only
- Holding meetings in governmental buildings (fire station, police station, community rooms)
- Having off-duty cops provide security at meetings
- Having portable metal detectors at meetings
- Reporting all threats of violence to police
- Obtaining restraining orders if appropriate
- Issuing bullet-proof vests to all board members
While some of these may seem extreme and wouldn’t be necessary in most associations if the board has received threats or there are known violent owners with disputes against the association, each of these would be minimal considering the risk of serious injury or death to your community volunteers.
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