The Fayette County Courthouse Security Conundrum

Fayette County Commissioners discussed but took no action on a proposal to hire courthouse security officers at a meeting Thursday, Dec. 9.

“I want people to be able enjoy the courthouse, because it is one of the best in the country and a beautiful facility,” said Fayette County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Chief Craig Moreau. “But our employees need a level of safety. The days that concern me more than others are felony court days. On days when we have grand jury, it doesn’t concern me as much because we have officers everywhere. There are times when its more secure and less secure.”

Pct. 3 Commissioner Harvey Berckenhoff said he does not want to see access restricted to a point where the public has to press a button to get inside. “The public needs to be able to come and go, but it has to be secured for the employees,” he said.

Berckenhoff suggested using the County’s elected constables as courthouse security officers in exchange for supplemental pay. He said three of the four constables were interested in performing the work.

“Back in the budget workshop, we talked about the constables who needed some more (pay), because they weren’t getting paid a whole lot,” Berckenhoff said. “And we said maybe we could use them as some security here. Those guys are elected by the people of Fayette County. People have put a lot of faith in these guys, and they’re commissioned officers. I think they’ve got the qualifications to do it. Can we try this for some period of time and see if it will work out before we hire another full-time position?”

Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom supported the plan involving the constables.

“Before we jump into hiring someone else, these are people who have been here and they are licenced peace officers,” McBroom said. “They could probably pull two or three shifts and still do their constable duties.”

Pct. 4 Commissioner Drew Brossmann said off-duty Sheriff’s deputies may be interested in earning some extra money by working shifts as courthouse security officers.

“They know the protocols, they have equipment and know the county better than anyone else,” Brossmann said.

The County allocated $100,000 towards courthouse security in next year’s budget. McBroom said he would like to see some of that money used for security equipment, especially security cameras.

On the night of Aug. 28, someone broke a window of the door at the main entrance on the east side of the courthouse. That same night, a suspect was captured on a private security camera breaking a window in front of the Insight Brazilian Jiu Jitsu studio on Colorado St. across from the courthouse. That suspect was arrested for the damage on Colorado St. But the Country doesn’t have any security cameras that could have provided evidence for the courthouse damage.

“The next time we have someone throw a chair through the window downstairs, I want to know who it is,” McBroom said. “We’re pretty sure we know. But we have nothing to tell who did it. That’s such a simple thing for a building this size and worth so much money. This is a costly building to replace, and we could never rebuild it the same way.”

The County already purchased a metal detector out of this year’s budget. The metal detector is currently used at the entrance of the district courtroom on the second floor. District Judge Jeff Steinhauser, who chairs the County’s courthouse security committee, said the County needs to decide which department or official will be in charge of courthouse security.

“Generally, the Sheriff is responsible for the security of the courthouse,” Steinhauser said at the meeting. “But now a little differently we’ve had funding to (Emergency Management and Homeland Security Chief Craig Moreau’s) department. There’s a courthouse security fund that funds part of the bailiffs through the Sheriff’s department. I’m not certain how this ought to all work.”

Texas Government Code section 291.003 states the following: “The county sheriff shall have charge and control of the county courthouse, subject to the regulations of the commissioners court.”

“It’s almost like we’ve got too many things going on,” Steinhauser. “It ought to be figured out: should it all be with Craig, which probably makes the most sense under that office? I don’t really know.”

Steinhauser asked the County Attorney’s office to look into how courthouse security should be run. Assistant County Attorney Blake Watson said his boss, County Attorney Peggy Supak, questioned who would carry the law enforcement commission of the officers assigned to courthouse security.

Many sheriffs’ offices in other counties have established courthouse security units within their departments. In an interview on Friday, County Judge Joe Weber said he believes courthouse security should fall under the County’s homeland security department, which is headed by Moreau. He said the Sheriff has committed to providing security and bailiffs on days when court is in session. But Weber said he did not believe the Sheriff is responsible for day-to-day security at the courthouse. In addition, Weber said he envisioned a courthouse security department that would be responsible for security at other county facilities as well, such as the Ag Building and Meadows Building.