Security nets nearly 2,000 knives at Marathon County Courthouse, plus guns and drugs
WAUSAU WI Aug 11 2018 – Almost 2,000 people in the last 12 months have tried to bring a knife to the courthouse. Two brought loaded guns, and two more brought illegal drugs with them.
That’s according to the latest tally from the Marathon County Sheriff’s Department, which posted on social media about the items it has confiscated in the first year of the courthouse’s expanded security measures.
The courthouse’s security system, installed in September 2017, include metal detectors and an X-ray machine, and security personnel screen all visitors to the courthouse and examine their belongings.
The Marathon County Board voted last year last year to put the system in place after an empty holster found in the bathroom triggered a lockdown of the courthouse, and on a different date a man due to appear in court was found to have several knives and a box cutter on his person.
The security system at the Marathon County Courthouse was installed in 2017.
The fatal shooting on March 22, 2017 of an attorney in the area, one of four people killed by the same shooter that day, also played a role in the County Board’s decision to better protect courthouse staff.
Over the last year, the department has screened 203,788 people as they entered the courthouse, according to the Sheriff’s Department’s Facebook post. As a result, the following items have been confiscated:
1,983 knives
148 canisters of pepper spray
2 loaded firearms
20 rounds of ammunition (in addition to the loaded firearms)
1 firearm component
15 impact weapons
18 pieces of drug paraphenelia
2 items containing illegal drugs
502 other prohibited items, such as scissors, handcuff keys, alcoholic beverages and more
According to the post, the department has also has had more drunken driving, alcohol and drug arrests in the building, due to early contact with impaired individuals. The post then goes on to thank the public for remaining patient while the system was implemented, and staff that work the security system each day.
Wausau Daily Herald
