Lt. John Kapetanis started with the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office in 1980 and currently runs security for the city’s courthouses as the judicial operations commander. The importance of secure courthouses has become increasingly clear in recent weeks with a deputy being shot in a Fauquier County courthouse and a gunman opening fire in the lobby of a federal courthouse in Las Vegas.
What lessons can be learned from the these two incidents?
In Fauquier County, an inmate was able to get hold of a deputy’s gun and start shooting. One of the things we instill here in every deputy is that guns and prisoners don’t mix. The big question in Fauquier should be, why did the deputy have a gun while being near a prisoner? We restrict firearms from areas where there are prisoners. Police officers who come in to testify have to put their guns in a lockbox before entering a courtroom. Any deputy who handles prisoners does not have a gun. The second aspect is that the inmate in Fauquier was able to get a knife or shank into the courthouse. We search our inmates seven times before they get to a courtroom.
How about Las Vegas?
We have to remember to stay on our toes. There’s not much you can do to prevent someone from walking into the lobby and opening fire. What we can do is be prepared to handle the situation. The guards at the front are armed, and later this year we’re adding bullet-resistant walls to help keep them safe. Last February we conducted active shooter training and we responded well. We have a security camera trained on the entrance area, and it’s under constant surveillance from inside and out.
Have there been many security changes in the face of a growing terrorism threat?
Since the [Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks], we’ve boosted security clearance into the building by adding electronic access cards to doorways and the areas containing prisoners. … The department has also changed a lot since the 1980s. Looking back, 1980 was like the Dark Ages. It hasn’t just been technological advances, but also professionalism.
