Court security summit held

The Merced County Superior Court last week hosted dozens of law enforcement agencies from around California during a two-day training session on courthouse security.

Linda Romero Soles, the Merced court’s chief executive officer, said the program featured scenario-based training on topics ranging from basic weapons screening and courtroom disturbances to bomb threats.

“They showed how to react to specific threats and situations, such as finding weapons, or (explosives) or items in the mail,” Romero Soles said.

The training was conducted Thursday and Friday at the courthouse in Merced. Court security experts Judge Lee Sinclair from Ohio and Timm Fautsko from Colorado were the keynote speakers.

Fautsko, a court security consultant with the National Center for State Courts for more than 20 years, developed several guidelines and best practices in court security and has conducted about 275 courthouse security assessments, Romero Soles said.

The training was funded by a technical assistance grant from the National Center for State Courts. The court applied for a grant to train court deputies, court staff and judicial officers in August 2014, Romero Soles said in a news release.

Court security has remained a key concern in Merced County, especially since April 2008 when an Atwater man stormed a courtroom with two large knives and was shot and killed by Merced County sheriff’s deputies.

Agencies participating in the event included the Merced County Sheriff’s Department, which handles court security in Merced and Los Banos.

This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 11:05 PM with the headline "Court security summit held."