Suspicious white substance leads to Capitol lockdown

DES MOINES - The chief of security at the Iowa Capitol is defending the handling of an incident that caused a four-hour lockdown Thursday after a lawmaker received a racially charged threatening letter that contained a white powder.

“It's easy to question and armchair quarterback people,” said Capt. Mark Logsdon, commander of Iowa State Patrol District 16 that provides Capitol security.

Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, who has trained in toxic threats and in hazardous materials response, called the response “botched” and “kind of a goofed-up deal.”

However, the target of the threatening letter, Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad, D-Des Moines, and his clerk, Michael Dekota McRae, who opened the letter, said they were happy with the outcome.

“First of all, and foremost, I want to thank God. I give God credit for everything,” Abdul-Samad told reporters after tests by the hazardous materials team determined the powder, possibly laundry detergent, was not dangerous. “We're in pretty good shape now.”

The House was debating a bill to ban traffic enforcement cameras when McRae opened the letter. Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, halted debate when informed of the situation. He and lawmakers discussed how to proceed - whether to wash the powder from their hands or use a vacuum to remove it.

Eventually, Sergeant-at-Arms Don Wederquist gathered the powder in a garbage bag and gave it to a state trooper on the scene. She said it smelled like detergent.

Because Abdul-Samad indicated the letter contained a threat on his life “it has been sealed up” and taken into evidence, Paulsen said.

“I didn't read it word for word,” said Frank Metzger, a House doorkeeper who is retired from a 32-year career with the Iowa State Patrol in Webster City and Mason City, was one of the first to respond. However, he described it as “somewhat” racially charged. Abdul-Samad and McRae, who are black, declined to comment on the nature of the letter.

The Capitol was locked down from about 3:45 p.m. to nearly 8 p.m. and no one was allowed in or out. Abdul-Samad and McRae were sequestered in a closed vestibule between the rotunda and the chamber. Abdul-Samad was allowed to vote from outside the House chamber.

A police officer who also serves as a member of the Iowa House commended the handling of the incident.

“As a policemen, all you can do is try to secure everything and notify (the hazardous materials team) and get them rolling,” said Rep. Tom Shaw, R-Laurens. “Plus, if they did find something that was hazardous, you want all the people there so you can treatment them.”

However, Dotzler, a former volunteer with the John Deere Fire Brigade who has trained with the Waterloo haz-mat team, wasn't as complimentary.

“The whole thing was kind of botched from the beginning,” he said. “I think probably it stemmed from the fact that nobody really believes when you get something that's sent that it's going to be real, but you don't have that right to make that choice.

“You've got to always operate under the assumption that you're dealing with a toxic material that could hurt people and there should have been some basic procedures followed through,” Dotzler said.

It's easy for people to say what should or shouldn't have been done, Logsdon said.

“The nature of this building is that it's very public,” Logsdon continued. “The fact of the matter is that once the letter was opened and the substance was airborne it literally contaminated everyone in there. So I think the containment was the best possible considering the circumstances on a busy afternoon.”

Dotzler said many people were “wandering everywhere.”

“It's kind of a goofed-up deal,” he said, admitting that he tried to leave the Capitol. “So everybody is culpable in some way. But I also knew that everybody had already left. There were lobbyists and people were trying to sneak out of here like rats on a sinking ship, you know, they were looking for their way out.”