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Sheriff recounts arrest inside courthouse and urges panic‑button drills
Summary
Treasury County’s sheriff told commissioners he had to arrest an individual inside the courthouse and expressed concern that people entering the building may have had access to firearms; commissioners agreed to review panic‑button coverage and hold a drill.
The county sheriff recounted an incident in which an individual had to be arrested inside the courthouse and said the person had had recent access to firearms before arriving. The sheriff described moving the subject out of the building and said the episode highlighted a continuing safety risk for staff, visitors and children who are sometimes in the courthouse.
"I was dealing with a case ... I had to, arrest them inside the courthouse and basically force them outside and into the back of my truck," the sheriff said, explaining why he requested action on building safety. He asked the board for guidance and proposed reviewing alarm coverage and panic‑button locations to ensure rapid notification to dispatch and staff.
Commissioners and staff confirmed the building has panic buttons in many offices and discussed practical steps: identifying where buttons are located, ensuring dispatch receives alarm signals, adding a panic button in the sheriff’s far‑end office, and scheduling a short drill so staff can practice the response. One commissioner suggested a brief brown‑bag demonstration over lunch to show staff where buttons are and how the system alerts dispatch.
No formal policy change was adopted at the Sept. 16 meeting, but the sheriff’s request prompted a scheduling action: staff will organize a drill and provide a map of panic‑button locations and response protocol for the next meeting cycle.
