KALAMAZOO (WKZO) -- Fearing court room violence, Kalamazoo County officials and county judges have agreed on a plan to provide circuit, district and family courthouses with armed deputies to replace their privatized security guards.
Kalamazoo judges have apparently been concerned for sometime about the fact that their unarmed rent-a-cops are not up to the task of coping with the level of violence, anger and human drama that seems to be occurring in court houses with increasing regularity.
Tuesday, the county board also approved a request from the aviation authority to cut three deputy positions from the staff of 8 who currently patrol the airport terminal.
Undersheriff Paul Matyas said those deputies and 5 others laid off last night due to funding cuts will get first crack at the courthouse jobs.
