Security consultant to suggest tighter controls at Munhall mental health facility

Nov. 24--A security consultant retained by the Allegheny County District Attorney's office to review the Munhall facility where police say a former mental patient stabbed five people said he will likely recommend installing a metal detector or using hand-held wands to screen everyone entering.

John Hudson and his company, Security Consulting Solutions Inc. of Monaca, also will explore creating better controls for accessing doors at Turtle Creek Valley Mental Health, installing video, and maintaining the armed security that has already been hired. The suspect in the attack, Dustin Johnson, 38, of Carnegie, freely entered the largely unlocked facility and went unchallenged to the fifth floor, where police say he carried out his attack.

"We've made some initial recommendations for checking people as they come through. That's one of those access control point measures," Mr. Hudson said. "I don't see any other way right now. You have to have a person at the door to do a preliminary screening."

Mr. Hudson has a wealth of experience. He's a former U.S.Secret Service agent who led the security assessment for District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. after a gunman opened fire at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in 2012, killing one person and wounding several others before being shot to death by police.

Among the suggestions Mr. Hudson made for the Oakland facility: modifications to the elevator, adding bulletproof glass and rerouting how people entered the hospital.

"When something like this happens, [Mr. Zappala's] always interested in knowing if there's ways that a facility could have been secured to prevent things like this, similar to that Western Psych. He's asked me to take a look at the security vulnerabilities if there are any," Mr. Hudson said. "We're looking at the architectural component of it to see if there's a better way for access control."

Mr. Hudson understands that Turtle Creek Valley is a different type of facility from Pittsburgh's main psychiatric hospital. The fifth floor, where police say Mr. Johnson went on a rampage Nov. 11, is a community residential program where patients live and are freely allowed to go in and out. There are people entering for treatment of abuse and addiction, as well as for court-ordered evaluations, Mr. Hudson said, adding that there are also school assistance counselors and doctors' offices.

"I understand that the group that we're working with is a mental health facility, and with mental health come a number of different issues," Mr. Hudson said. "You kind of have all walks of life within the mental health area."

He said he is aware of concerns by Turtle Creek Valley's executive director, Fran Sheedy Bost, that a facility that has historically been open to the public not be turned into an armed fortress. To limit risk, however, he said, "You have to change."

"Not that we want to prevent anyone from coming in, but we want to make sure that if they do come in it's a safe environment for the staff and for those patients. You certainly don't want people to feel like they're coming into a locked-down facility," Mr. Hudson said.

"It's become pretty standard in a number of different locations -- to include schools and hospitals -- to have some preliminary screening measure in place, knowing who's coming to visit there. You shouldn't have people coming in off the street able to fully access the building and roam throughout the building."

Mr. Hudson said he hoped to have his report ready for the district attorney within two weeks. Mr. Zappala's office declined to comment.

Jonathan D. Silver: jsilver@post-gazette.com.

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