Some County Officials Alarmed After Symptomatic Person Makes It to Court

‘Horribly Inadequate’ Security: Man With Severe Symptoms Just One of A Number of Recent Concerns

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Lewis County officials are again sounding the alarm over security concerns in court, this time pointing to what Court Administrator Susie Palmateer  called “horribly inadequate” security at the Law and Justice Center.

That description came after individuals with COVID-19 symptoms or without masks have made it into courtrooms despite guards tasked with screening duties.

In one incident this week, an Ethel man summoned to Superior Court made it past security and into the courtroom only to report that he had a fever and was experiencing severe COVID-19 symptoms.

“He’s sweating, he looks terrible, and reports to the judge that he’s sick, doesn’t feel well, and that he reported it to security. He has no sense of taste or smell, and was allowed through all the public areas and into the courtroom,” Palmateer told county commissioners this week.

Palmateer told commissioners that video footage confirmed what the man said in court — that he had talked to security at the building’s entrance and was waived through.

According to Andy Caldwell, the county’s emergency management deputy director, five similar incidents have been reported at the Law and Justice Center in the last two months. That’s despite reaching out to management at Sphere Protection, the private security firm on contract with Lewis County.

Security guards at the entrance of the Law and Justice Center are trained to screen individuals for COVID-19 symptoms. If symptoms are reported, the court can figure out alternatives to holding in-person proceedings that day.

“Six months ago I would say it’s a training issue, but we bring it to the attention of the owner of the company and it still continues,” Palmateer said, adding, “I don’t know what to do with that.”

The county has contracted with the same company since 2002. At one point, Sphere Protection was part of Western Washington Merchant Patrol, but the company split a few years ago, according to Merchant Patrol owner Dolly Tardiff.

Sphere Protection owner Donald Tardiff, who also serves as the chief of police for the Stillaguamish Tribe, could not be reached by The Chronicle before deadline. The company does not have a website or, according to Dolly, a main phone line.



In addition to potentially exposing attorneys, judges, court officials and participants to COVID-19, Palmateer said the failings of on-site security also “brings to light how many other things are getting through.”

“People are walking through unchecked. So there isn’t any feeling that we’re secure up there. Are they bringing in weapons? Drugs? It’s just woefully inadequate,” she said. “We need to improve it before something horrible happens.”

Palmateer and Caldwell also noted that the county’s sole armed security guard — Neil Hoium, a retired Centralia police officer — is stretched thin, responsible for covering multiple facilities. Hoium was hired in 2019 after Judge R.W. Buzzard took it upon himself to chase down two defendants who fled from a hearing in the Law and Justice Center — an incident that garnered international attention.

The concern of Hoium shouldering too much responsibility paired with new issues with Sphere Protection means the county will look to re-up their security contracts, likely putting out a request for proposals to solicit offers from other security companies.

“I want to make sure that long term, we understand that it’s probably going to be an almost $70,000 hit to the general fund,” Caldwell said.

The consternation also comes on the heels of similar concerns voiced by district court judges who operate monthly out of Morton. This week, those judges came to county commissioners with complaints that the Morton Police Department — which provides security, often through volunteer auxiliary officers — had refused to wear masks as well, putting court proceedings in East County in jeopardy.

While county commissioners have questioned whether court operations should be discontinued in Morton, Commissioner Sean Swope also mused with the idea of using a new security contract to also provide service to Morton in lieu of the town’s local police force.

“I would say all options are on the table at this point,” he said.