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Saturday, March 12, 2005

Ind. Courts - Concerns about court safety

A story today in the Munster (NW Indiana) Times is headlined "Judge Pera: 'I'm afraid it could happen here'". The lead:

CROWN POINT | A courtroom shooting Friday in Atlanta that left a judge and two others dead was a shock, but not a surprise to Chief Lake Superior Court Judge John J. Pera here.

He has been lobbying for two years to ban all guns from Lake County's courts, but police officers refused to surrender their sidearms at the courthouse door. Now he is renewing that call.

"I'm very upset at what happened in Atlanta and I'm afraid some day it could happen in my own courtroom," Pera said.

The Indianapolis Star reports "Local judges express concern:"
Marion County Superior Court's presiding judge said Friday that disarming deputies who lead prisoners to court would help stop courtroom shootings.

"One thing we may want to do is look at having the deputies who handle prisoners not have firearms," said Judge Cale Bradford. "The jail guards don't have firearms and that works out fine. They can still use clubs or pepper spray."

Bradford said violent acts against judges in Chicago and Atlanta have led him to reassess the safety of judges.

"I always thought this type of thing couldn't happen to judges," Bradford said. "It makes me cautious, absolutely."

Marion County court officials long have complained about security in the City-County Building and said an Atlanta-type shooting could happen here.

"It could happen in our courts, too" is the headline to this story from the Cincinnati Enquirer. Some quotes:
Judges and court employees across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky were asking the same question Friday after a fatal shooting in an Atlanta courthouse: Could it happen here?

For most, the answer was, "Yes."

Despite extensive and costly security improvements in the past few years, law enforcement officials say courtrooms always will be vulnerable to a determined or desperate assailant.

"It could happen anywhere," said Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis, who is in charge of security at the Hamilton County courthouse and several other county buildings.

Leis said security at the courthouse is tight, with metal detectors and dozens of armed deputies. But if someone is determined enough, Leis said, they can find a way to beat nearly any security system.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 12, 2005 03:36 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts