In W.Va. County, No Exception to Security at Courthouse

March 11, 2005
$26,000 spent on new detection systems that all must pass through

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - There are no exceptions for undergoing security scanning at the Monongalia County Judicial and Correctional Annex. Not even for the president of the United States.

A new $12,000 scanner and $14,000 X-ray machine were installed in the building this week.

"Anyone who walks through that door gets scanned," Court Administrator Darris Summers told Court Security Officer Nick DeMedici. "If George Bush walks through that door, he's going through that scanner. Understand?"

Security officers temporarily confiscated five pocketknives from people scanned by the new system on Thursday, the first day it was used.

The equipment was paid for with federal Homeland Security and state Supreme Court grants.