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.''