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In Wake Of St. Pete Shooting, Security At Clearwater Courthouse May Be At Issue

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By CARLOS MONCADA | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 7, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG -- A security checkpoint system helped keep a gunman from passing through the Pinellas County Judicial Building on Wednesday, but it's not in place at the much larger, busier court center in downtown Clearwater.

All visitors to the downtown St. Petersburg court building and the Criminal Justice Center on 49th Street North must walk through a metal detector and have their items screened by magnetometers, or X-ray machines, before entering.

In Clearwater, the seat of county government, people enter the main courts complex from several access points. Bailiffs guard only a section of the complex housing the courtrooms and judicial chambers and only visitors to that section are screened by security inspection equipment.

Wednesday's incident in St. Petersburg, in which two bailiffs shot and killed a man who opened fire on them in the lobby, raised a recurring question about whether security needs to be beefed up at the Clearwater courts complex.

"There have been discussions about that in the past," Sheriff Jim Coats said. "But the decision was made to provide bailiff security only as citizens enter the courtroom facilities themselves so as not to cause any unnecessary delays to citizens entering the court complex to do other business that's not court-related."

The downtown Clearwater complex includes two courthouses and an annex building. The complex houses civil courtrooms, the county traffic division, county government offices such as the county administrator and county commission, and property and tax records.

Coats called the funding he receives for bailiffs adequate. His office has 150 bailiffs, who are sheriff's deputies, at seven court centers throughout Pinellas.

Last month, cash-strapped county officials asked Coats to cut more than $25 million from his proposed budget for next year, a request he is trying to comply with.

"We've reduced our staff by about 64 positions so far," the sheriff said. "We're trying to avoid cutting our staff that would affect court services, such as bailiff positions."

Asked whether security in downtown Clearwater should be tightened, Coats said, "That's a judgment call by folks other than myself. I would be willing to contribute to a discussion regarding that."

The Clearwater courthouse was built in the early 1960s with open access in mind, not security, said Mark Woodard, chief assistant county administrator. Adding more bailiffs or installing more security equipment would cost millions, he said.

In lieu of such measures, security cameras have been installed throughout the complex. Two uniformed sheriff deputies also are stationed at the Clearwater complex.

"We do take the safety of our employees and visitors very seriously," Woodard said. "What happened in St. Petersburg, I think, demonstrates the system in place did work."

Reporter Carlos Moncada can be reached at (727) 451-2333 or cmoncada@tampatrib.com.

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