Visitors to the Brown County Courthouse will soon be required to pass through one door and a metal detector, manned by a new security officer.
On March 19, the Brown County Council unanimously approved a request from Brown Circuit Judge Judith Stewart to create a new courthouse security officer job.
The council is expected to formally approve it at the April meeting.
The new job came about after a meeting among courthouse office workers and county officials March 14. “It was a unanimous agreement that this critical position needs to be established and staffed as soon as possible,” said a proposal signed by Brown County Council President Keith Baker.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Right now, the Brown County Courthouse has three entrances and none of them are manned.
In the past, the courthouse bathrooms were a popular stop for tourists because they were the only public bathrooms on Main Street, Bailiff Andy Reed said in January during a meeting with DLZ.
There are security cameras at the doors, which Reed can watch if he is at his desk, but he said he is rarely at his desk, he said.
Signs on the entrances tell visitors not to bring weapons in, but that doesn’t stop people; Reed said in January that three were found in one week.
The new officer would be at the same pay grade as Reed’s, which is $35,761 for 2018. Together, their responsibilities would be to process visitors coming in and out of the courthouse. The new officer would be responsible for the security of the building, physical access, the courthouse grounds and parking areas, according to the proposal.
Baker said he didn’t want to wait 18 months to two years, when a new justice center might be built, before security in the courthouse is addressed. Lack of security has been discussed in public meetings for more than five years.
“I couldn’t look a family in the eye if we lose somebody between now and then, let alone our employees who are receiving sometimes a lot of threats,” Baker said.
Engineering and architectural firm DLZ was hired in November to do a comprehensive study of space, staffing and operations associated with the court, projected out to what the needs will be in 2040. That was the first step toward making possible changes to the way Brown Circuit Court has been operating, in the same building in downtown Nashville since 1874.
“I am concerned about our liability if we get somebody hurt in a court situation. We’re one of the few counties that don’t have anything. I don’t want to see the 6 o’clock news saying, ‘Brown County didn’t protect their courthouse or their witnesses,’” Baker said.
Since the March 14 meeting, other projects have been started to increase courthouse security, including installing keypad locks in “certain critical locations,” additional security cameras and better hallway lighting, Baker wrote.
The plan is to cover the new officer’s salary and benefits using riverboat gambling state disbursements. That account holds about $160,000, Auditor Beth Mulry reported March 19. The fund takes in an average of about $75,000 a year.
The council also voted to allocate $10,000 to a separate budget line to pay for part-time help when the officer is out on vacation, sick or in training.
“I can find, personally, no better use for the gaming money that comes to us from the state than our courthouse security,” Baker said.
“The whole purpose of this is we stop people from bringing guns or knives or anything else into the lower level. Right now, our courthouse security is a sticker on the back door that says, ‘Don’t you bring a gun or knife in here.’”
The door that courthouse visitors and employees will use will be the one facing the parking lot — not the one on the face of the building underneath the metal staircases.
The south end doors, both upstairs and down, will be used as emergency exits only.
The security screening checkpoint will be set up near the east end of the lower-level hallway. The metal detector which currently sits unused on the second floor outside the courtroom will be moved there.
The north stairway to the court offices will be restricted to employees and approved officers of the court through a keypad or keyfob system.
All employees, including court employees, will go through the machine in the morning and as they enter and exit the building throughout the day.
“I think that’s fair. I think we should not make those exceptions,” Baker said.
Mulry said clerk’s office employees often walk back and forth to the courthouse vault multiple times in a day, which would require them to go through the machine each time.
“If anything, it offers them more protection, because they do business in and out of that vault all day long. Now, you’ll have an officer watching them go in and out of the vault. I think that provides even more security,” Baker said.
The new security officer would be cross-trained as a second bailiff, so the two can exchange positions during the work day for breaks or required outdoor security checks.
Stewart said she does not anticipate the new officer working with juries, which is a large part of Reed’s job currently. This new position is more for court security. “We would like to be able to assign them some other work if they can do it while they are sitting there, so they aren’t just sitting there twiddling thumbs during the down time,” Stewart said.
Operationally, the officer will report to the judge, but would be trained, armed and certified by the Brown County sheriff.
The officer will wear a uniform like Reed’s and would carry authority under the sheriff as a special deputy.
“It’s different than a reserve deputy, so a special deputy authority provides police and powers of arrest while carrying out their duties in and around the courthouse. If they need to take police action, that special deputy card allows them to do that,” Baker said.
Under the new proposal, only police officers with jurisdiction in Brown County would be allowed to carry a firearm in the courthouse unless prior authorization is granted by either the judge or sheriff.
Council Vice President Dave Critser said courthouse security has been an issue he has discussed with Stewart for years. He commended Baker for making strides toward fixing it.
Stewart, who’s not seeking reelection after more than 20 years on the bench, thanked the council for their support.
“Bringing weapons in has always been a concern to me,” she said.
Criminal cases haven’t been as much as a concern; “it’s been the family law, the mental health cases, the protective orders and, honestly, even sometimes the small claims, where emotions are so high, there’s not the stability there.
“As much as I hate to think of limiting access into the courthouse, I think it’s necessary.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Pull Quote” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
“Right now, our courthouse security is a sticker on the back door that says, ‘Don’t you bring a gun or knife in here.’”
— Keith Baker, Brown County Council president, on the need for a security officer at the courthouse
[sc:pullout-text-end]
