Capitol Police chief leaving different building behind

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Lou Tedeschi remembers when visitors to Jefferson City could walk freely into the Statehouse.

But as Tedeschi ends his 24 years with the Capitol Police -- the last two as chief -- he knows that times have changed.

There are metal detectors at entrances to the Capitol, a response to the Sept. 11 attacks. A guard shack and concrete barriers were installed after Oklahoma City's federal building was bombed in 1995.

All are signs of increasingly violent times, Tedeschi said.

"Without a doubt it's a more dangerous world," Tedeschi said. "People are more aware now of their surroundings and world issues than they ever have been before. I think because they are better informed, they expect measures to be taken so that the administration of government and their work environment is safer."

Tedeschi, 55, who is retiring at the end of the month, went to work for the state in 1978 after five years as a Jefferson City police officer. He worked as a security officer at the Governor's Mansion and later was promoted to deputy chief of the Capitol Police, a position he held for about a decade.

'Makes our job easier'

Even though the new security measures are inconvenient for visitors, Tedeschi said security officials had been requesting them for years.

"It makes our job easier because those things are in place," said Tedeschi, who oversees about 33 officers. "We're more comfortable with people who come into the buildings because they are being checked for weapons and explosives. Prior to that, free and open access did make our job a little difficult."

The Capitol Police also investigate crimes and break-ins throughout the Capitol complex. Tedeschi noted with pride that there has not been a homicide reported during his time as a Capitol Police officer.

"I'd say the environment here has been good," Tedeschi said. "I can't point to anything that occurred that was a major security breach during the time I was here."

Married with four children, Tedeschi's plans include a new job as a court security officer, or bailiff, assigned to new Cole County Judge Richard Callahan.

"It was a job that became available at the right time for me. This isn't just a career switch, I am retiring from state government," Tedeschi said. "I look at it as more than something to keep me busy."

Callahan, who is the former Cole County prosecutor, said Tedeschi had worked with his office on several cases involving operations at the Capitol. Such experience made Tedeschi the logical pick for the bailiff's job, Callahan said.

"If the investigation touched on gathering a lot of information from the Capitol, Lou would have been involved in one facet or another," Callahan said. "He has good judgment and common sense. That's all I ask."

Tedeschi, a St. Louis native who has attended FBI and Secret Service training courses during his career, said he personally would prefer that people be allowed free access again to the Capitol.

"It's sad that it has to come to that," Tedeschi said. "A more safe world would be better than having to do what we do."