Spat between judge and courthouse security officer is resolved by requiring all judges to show ID
Upset about what he perceived as racial profiling, an Ohio judge angrily responded to a request that he show identification as he entered the Hamilton County Courthouse on Monday and Tuesday with heated language.
Judge Theodore “Ted” Berry later apologized for the language he used but said seeming selective enforcement of the ID requirement by a county sheriff’s deputy was “unacceptable” racial profiling, reports WLWT. He is the second African-American judge to complain about perceived harassment at the courthouse.
However, sheriff’s office spokesman Mike Robison said “This is not about politics. This is not about race. This is about doing our job and making sure that building is secure,” reports WCPO. The deputy who asked Berry to show ID was new to the job and didn’t recognize the judge, Robison said.
The issue has been resolved, WLWT reports, by requiring everyone who enters the courthouse to show ID or obtain prior security clearance.
As an earlier Cincinnati Enquirer story explained, Berry was entering the courthouse at the information desk. Those with sheriff-issued ID cards, including judges, are allowed to do, bypassing metal detectors. It appears from news coverage that security officers have been allowing judges they recognize into the courthouse without requiring them to produce ID.
Berry did not respond to the newspaper’s requests for comment.
