Posted on 07/22/2002 1:31:29 PM PDT by rdavis84
Mystery men keep handle on security at courthouse
BY LINDA SATTER
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
July 22, 2002
They stand resolutely outside the federal courts building in downtown Little
Rock, watching and listening, saying little.
Inside, more of these mysterious men patrol in navy blue jackets,
starched white shirts and gray pants. They demand identification from all
who enter and screen for weapons. In courtrooms, they keep an eye on
proceedings while their earpieces deliver a running account of happenings
elsewhere in the building.
Occasionally, they speak softly into radios, and then suddenly,
discreetly, more of their kind appear.
They also guard jurors and jurists and stand ready to provide
cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Last year, James Thomas Carman was nationally
recognized as CSO of the Year for performing chest compressions to save the
life of U.S. District Judge Henry Woods, who died this March.
Though the badges pinned to their jackets declare "U.S. Marshal’s
Service," they’re not marshals. They’re also not security guards, cops or
bailiffs. And contrary to what some believe, they’re not federal agents, or
even federal employees.
They officially are called court security officers, or CSOs. They are
part of a nationwide group of former law enforcement and military security
officers who work for a private security firm under contract with the U.S.
Marshal’s Service. While in the courthouse, they have the same powers as
deputy marshals. But unlike the federal agents they work alongside, that
authority evaporates when the CSOs leave the building each day.
"They are the guys on the front line," said Daya Khalsa, senior vice
president of Akal Security, a company in Santa Cruz, N.M., that employees
CSOs in two-thirds of the country’s 12 federal judicial circuits, including
the 8th Circuit that encompasses Arkansas and six other states.
"They’re really providing the face of security to everyone. They’re the
people who see things first. They know the building better than anybody,"
Khalsa said.
The CSO program began on a small scale about 20 years ago in New York
City to supplement overworked federal marshals. It spread nationwide as all
federal courthouses increased security and as marshals’ duties expanded
beyond protecting judges. Today, there are about 4,800 federal CSOs.
"There’s a perception out there that private security is just driven by
price and it’s very low quality, and that’s a misconception," Khalsa said.
He said CSOs, who make $15 to $30 an hour, "couldn’t be more different" than
lower-paid private security employees.
While many private guards lack law enforcement experience and don’t carry
guns, CSOs are armed and have at least three years of law enforcement
experience. Most, Khalsa said, are retired cops with 20 to 30 years of
experience.
"I’ve been wearing a badge and carrying a gun since I was 18 years old,"
said John Dillon, 61, of Sherwood, a former U.S. Air Force security guard
and a CSO for five years.
In Little Rock, about half of the 28 CSOs at the main courthouse or the
nearby bankruptcy courthouse are former military police, while others are
retired sheriff’s deputies, police officers or state troopers. Many have
experience in both areas. The youngest is in his mid-30s, the oldest, in his
mid-70s. Most are in their 50s. All must pass stringent annual physicals.
Behind their uniformly steely gazes, though, they are a diverse bunch of
individuals, with skills reaching far beyond knowing how to shoot guns and
wrestle suspects — not that there is much of a need for either on their
watch.
Ron Cunningham, a CSO for 11 years who spent 20 years with Air Force
security, and who races horses around barrels on weekends, credits the
no-nonsense reputation of federal court for minimizing rowdy behavior that
sometimes afflicts the less-staid state courts.
"I think they have a lot more respect for the federal system," Cunningham
said of would-be troublemakers.
Cleo Randall, a CSO for three years who previously worked as a juvenile
court bailiff and in Air Force security, agreed. A martial arts teacher and
sword maker while off duty, Randall said the CSOs’ law enforcement
backgrounds help them quickly recognize postures or movements that signal
trouble, allowing them to ward it off by quietly summoning reinforcements.
Because the officers’ mere presence can deter trouble, making it hard to
know how much actual danger or crime they may have averted, the workday
often ends without that satisfying sense of accomplishment, notes Mike
Kieffer, a CSO for 10 years who spent 20 years in Air Force security.
Kieffer said that’s why the most rewarding part of the job is the
friendliness the CSOs get from courthouse regulars — judges, staff and
lawyers.
"They go out of their way to speak and remember what your name is. It
makes you feel appreciated," he said.
Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright said the court officers
"serve us well."
"My experience with them is they’re ordinarily pretty good with handling
people and different situations in a courtroom setting," Wright said. "I
think that, because of their backgrounds, they do have a lot of people
skills that others of us lack. The downside is they tend to be older and not
as physically fit" as marshals.
Wright said that since the bombing of the federal courthouse in Oklahoma
City in 1995 and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, she’s heard informal
chitchat at meetings of senior judges across the country about whether
more-enhanced security is needed in federal courts beyond that provided by
the combination of CSOs and marshals. Jim Hall, a supervisory deputy marshal
in Little Rock, said the CSOs provide necessary extra manpower and are "a
good group of guys."
Though much of what the CSOs do is secretive, one of their unofficial
duties is hard to miss. At least once a week, the courthouse is permeated
with the smell of bacon, stew or perhaps chicken and dumplings, all
emanating from the officers’ firstfloor office. Usually the cook is their
supervisor, 18-year veteran Joe Maxwell, or seven-year veteran Fred Clark.
"We have a simple meal once a week for fellowship. It’s just kind of
become a tradition," said Clark, a retired state trooper, deputy sheriff and
smalltown police chief known for making a mean batch of cornbread.
The CSOs admittedly cultivate the sense of mystery that leaves people
wondering who, exactly, they are, and what, exactly, they might do if
provoked.
"A great deal of the respect we get comes from the mystique," three-year
CSO Robert Bellamy said.
Max Ballew, a 13-year CSO, agreed. With a sly smile, he notes that’s one
reason why, when CSOs are on the job, "the courthouse is very well
protected."
This story was published Monday, July 22, 2002
Don't like us no more.
'specially you.
and thinden.
Please see above.
Still no answer. dighton asked you a pretty simple question, and you went out of your way to avoid answering it.
A simple question, and (speaking for myself only) I'll accept your answer as truthful. Did you initially assume that "AKAL" was Muslim? If not, apologies for my wrong assumption that you did.
Your non-answer to this question was Post #36:
"Did you initially assume that "AKAL" was Muslim?"
Actually, it WASN'T AKAL that first surfaced. I harped at Wallaby to come up with the security company's name via his search expertise and he turned up TEG.
About that time Nita went deeper into it and I think it was she that turned up AKAL. TEG appeared to be of Oriental/Asian ties to me as I recall.
Nita can probably flesh that a bit for us if she has time (and inclination ;-)
No definitive answer. Just some vague arm-waving.
Now, a simple yes or no: did you initially assume that AKAL was Muslim?
(Final Jeopardy music comes on while rdavis84 types answer.)
Summary:
What I get out of this is that there was a company named Teg in charge of security prior to the bombing. After that, Akal was the security company. It shared an address with Teg. There's a connection of some sort to an attorney and a Clinton fundraiser. The Arkansas Democrat Gazette has Akal as the security company for the federal building in Little Rock. (I'd add that Clinton is no longer President, but Bush is. Does the OKC bombing also involve President George W. Bush and AG John Ashcroft and/or they're in on the conspiracy and/or cover-up?)
So your conclusion is what? You're going to need to connect the dots for me. I see tenuous connections at best.
"dighton asked you a pretty simple question, and you went out of your way to avoid answering it."
My reply to dighton ---
"Did you initially assume that "AKAL" was Muslim?"
Actually, it WASN'T AKAL that first surfaced. I harped at Wallaby to come up with the security company's name via his search expertise and he turned up TEG.
About that time Nita went deeper into it and I think it was she that turned up AKAL. TEG appeared to be of Oriental/Asian ties to me as I recall.
Nita can probably flesh that a bit for us if she has time (and inclination ;-)
And -----
"Teg" promptly disappeared as an entity, if it indeed ever existed, after the OKC bombing."
That's one reason why we kept digging, and still have not resolved that detail. When a company is "disappeared" that quickly and completely, ya' just gotta say ...... hmmmmmm.
There's two useful answers to this question. One such answer is "Yes." The other one is "No." Unless you're going to quibble about the meaning of "is."
To prevent all sorts of confusion, I'll repeat *my* question: Did you initially assume that "AKAL" was Muslim?
It's a simple matter of Yes or No, which IMO #36 didn't resolve.
It's circle..... time.
If they had any concept of how really juvenile they come across with their "word games", well, they'd just be crushed :-)
But you've got to wonder what fires them up on a little matter of an article that brings up AKAL, don't ya' ?
Well, you sound about as mature as Bill Clinton did when he quibbled over the meaning of "is."
It doesn't make any difference. Knock off the sideshow act.
Why does a foreign private enterprise 'protect' 3/4 of the federal courts?
Now, you just flip a coin about AKAL and what my guess WOULD have been about their religious affinity might have been. At the time they were being discussed, I was still trying to get a handle on TEG (psssst... I think THEY, TEG, might have been Catholic). Butwho cares?
I neither need nor want your permission to ask questions. Knock it off yourself.
Why is it that a simple question provokes that much fancy footwork?
Or are you saying that the owners of Akal are foreigners--that is to say non-citizens--and shouldn't be providing the security?
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