Police chief up in arms over gun ban at Justice Center

PHIL HELSEL , Morning Journal Writer 06/08/2004

ELYRIA — Only Lorain County sheriff’s deputies can carry
weapons in the new Justice Center, and that upsets Elyria
police Chief Michael Medders.

A new restriction that bars on-duty police officers from
carrying weapons into the court facilities is ”flawed,”
Medders said in a letter sent to The Morning Journal
yesterday afternoon, and he wants it changed.

However, the judges in the Lorain County Common Pleas Court
criminal division were ”unanimous” that only sheriff’s
deputies — who are in charge of court security by law — be
allowed to carry weapons in the new facility, Common Pleas
Judge Lynett McGough said.

”We have looked at this, we have looked at the research,
and we came to a decision that only those charged with our
security will carry guns,” she said yesterday. ”It’s a
non-negotiable item.”

Because of the policy, Medders said, police officers
testifying in cases may be placed in jeopardy or be unable
to make an arrest if necessary.

”This appears on face value to be a bad decision,” Medders
said in the letter.

McGough said no exceptions should be made, noting, along
with other criminal division judges, that police officers
sometimes commit crimes and alluding to incidents like the
2003 murder of New York City Councilman James Davis, who was
killed by a political rival.

Secure buildings should require that everyone — including
police — follow the same rules, since in the Davis killing
the gunman used a special entrance reserved for government
officials, McGough said.

”When there is an incident in a secure building, and these
are few and far between, it’s been when security was lax,”
she said. ”Any time there have been incidents that are
horrific in secure buildings, they have been where people
bypassed security measures.”

Medders, who said he has the support of the Lorain County
Chiefs’ Association, said that law enforcement officials
have a better understanding of security than judges do.

”I would think that the judges would defer to law
enforcement and their experience and knowledge on
security-related topics, just as law enforcement would seek
the counsel of judges on matters of law,” he wrote.

Common Pleas Judge Kosma Glavas said yesterday he had not
heard of the letter, but he said that less, not more, guns
makes for a safer courtroom.

”A lot of things have happened, especially in domestic
relations, because of police officers,” Glavas said.
”They’re human beings, just like everybody else.”

The Second Amendment IS Homeland Security!!!