Franklin County bailiffs no longer armed

PASCO – Bailiffs serving in courtrooms in Franklin and Benton Counties will no longer be armed after Dec. 1.

Instead, deputies from their respective sheriff’s offices will provide armed security.

Franklin County Sheriff Jim D. Raymond announced the change last week, noting that since neither he nor Benton County Sheriff Tom Croskrey commissioned bailiffs, the courts decided to turn over responsibility to their counties’ law enforcement agencies.

For decades, bailiffs in both counties received special commissions from their county sheriffs, allowing them to carry firearms in courtrooms, Raymond...