PINE BLUFF -- The off-duty Pine Bluff Police officers and Arkansas State Police troopers who have been standing guard at the Jefferson County Courthouse since Wednesday will be paid, but not all Jefferson County Quorum Court commissioners agree they should have been called in the first place.
After Jefferson County Judge Dutch King received calls last Wednesday that no one was manning the security station at the entrance to the courthouse, he called Pine Bluff Mayor Debe Hollingsworth and the state police to see whether they would be able to provide officers to secure the courthouse.
King's actions came the day after the Quorum Court voted not to establish a $25,000 fund to cover needed security not provided by the Jefferson County sheriff's office. Quorum Court members questioned whether King's actions were legal.
"At least three laws were broken," Justice of the Peace Bruce Lockett said Monday night. "The Quorum Court didn't approve any money for security; in fact we voted down extra security being placed in a fund last Monday. I want to know where is the law that says the Quorum Court can vote not to fund something and then the judge continues to offer that service."
At Monday's meeting, commissioners approved paying $3,000 to cover the $30 per hour pay off-duty Pine Bluff police and state police have been earning to stand guard at the west door at the courthouse. The hourly rate is more than sheriff's guards make, Lafayette Woods Jr., the spokesman for the Jefferson County sheriff's office, said in an interview Friday afternoon.
Woods said most of the guards make under $20 and that he, as a major, doesn't make $30 per hour.
Woods said he didn't understand why the Quorum Court had originally rejected a $47,541 request from the sheriff's office that would have paid the salaries of two additional deputies.
"The numbers just don't add up," Woods said.
However, the Quorum Court did approve the $47,541 Monday night but said the money must come from the Public Safety/Sales Tax Fund.
Lockett said that, at the very least, King should have called Jefferson County Sheriff Gerald Robinson on Wednesday before taking it upon himself to staff the courthouse.
King said he believes he has the right because county judges are in charge of keeping courthouses secure and he felt that only armed guards at the entryway could provide that.
"I knew nothing. I got no notice," King said Friday. "This day and age you are kind of taking chances when you are leaving a courthouse open ... you just never know. They can go to churches and kill people now. They recently killed two bailiffs in courthouse shootings.
"We have five circuit judges and they have murder trials, rape trials. They have every type of trial, and it is a real touchy situation. There have been fights in the courthouse."
Circuit Judge Bill Benton attended Monday's meeting and spoke in favor of the judge taking swift action to make sure the courthouse was secure.
King said in today's society, it only takes one person to commit horrendous acts.
"You mean to tell me that there is not one person in Pine Bluff that is not crazy enough to come in here and start shooting?" King said. "I felt like this was my obligation to make sure it was safe."
Ted Harden, a justice of the peace and chairman of the Public Safety/Sales Tax Fund, said the judge made the right decision.
"To have a courthouse not secured is crazy," he said.
In other business Monday, justices did not approve $354,000 Robinson has used to provide raises and bonuses for staff members and other necessary operation costs.
Harden said Robinson was within his budget in spending the money and did not go over budget, but by law has to come to the Quorum Court for approval before making those decisions.
This could be something that could be passed on for review to the state's Legislative Audit, Harden said, but that will be up to the discretion of King.
State Desk on 07/19/2016