Fostering Thought: More courthouse security is needed

Now that I have had almost a month to reflect on the courthouse shooting in August that left one East Tennessee corrections officer dead, I have come to a conclusion. Every courthouse should have funds made available to have sheltered loading and unloading docks for prisoners who are being transported to and from court.

On Aug. 9 two corrections officers were escorting a prisoner from the Roane County Courthouse when the wife of the prisoner pulled up behind them and opened fire. One of the officers was hit and fatally wounded. The fugitives were caught almost 40 hours later at a hotel in Ohio .

The incident in Kingston really hit home for me. This is because it is my hometown. Kingston, a quaint little lake-front community at the foothills of the mountains, is where I had lived my whole life until moving away for college in 2001.

If something like this can happen in a town such as Kingston, it is more than likely going to happen in any town — except next time a civilian could end up the victim instead of an officer.

Every week at the Warren County Courthouse prisoners are loaded and unloaded on public sidewalks just a few feet from businesses and people roaming the square. I have witnessed this more than once and I have been here less than a month.

How hard would it really be for someone to drive around the square and help a prisoner escape?

Since this incident, Kingston and Roane County officials have been looking into plans to help prevent this problem from happening again. Suggestions include funding for a sallyport. A sallyport is a secure area for moving inmates to and from the courthouse, minimizing their exposure to the public. The Tennessee Department of Corrections has offered to absorb the cost of labor while the county would be responsible for materials. Other suggested ideas from the sheriff’s office include items such as a second full-time courthouse officer along with a new camera system.

The topic of fleeing inmates is nothing new for McMinnville either. Last year a prisoner escaped from the hands of an officer as he was being escorted from the courthouse. The fugitive was appearing in court that day answering to robbery charges for allegedly participating in a home invasion robbery where the resident was pistol whipped.

Not really someone I would want running the streets of the downtown area.

Way before this incident in Kingston, Warren County officials were looking into ways to keep from taking inmates to the courthouse. In 2004 a plan was proposed that would allow cameras to be installed into select rooms of the jail in which detainees would appear in court virtually. This has yet to be voted on by officials.

This is not just a safety issue for civilians. The officers are also at risk of being hurt or killed while transporting captives. I understand they take that chance by wearing the badge but being ambushed by someone with “all guns-a-blazing” is not the easiest thing to plan for and there is really no training available for those types of situations.

The National Law Enforcement’s Memorial Fund reports that an average of 164 officers are killed in the line of duty each year with 153 killed during 2004. On average more than 57,000 officers are assaulted every year. These numbers do not sit well with me.

We should do everything possible to protect the public and the officers so that another incident like what has happened in East Tennessee does not become a reality here.

Amy Foster is a reporter for the Standard. She can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].