A man walks into the courthouse on a court business-as-usual day. His behavior is erratic — talking into a handheld radio, holding a flashlight, a pair of handcuffs hanging from his waistband. An alert bailiff approaches the man, who insists he’s a federal agent, but when he’s asked for ID, the piece of paper he presents identifies him as a former patient of an Ohio mental health center. That’s when the bailiff notices the barrel of a large, black handgun holstered on the man’s hip.

The  incident isn’t an imagined scenario. It allegedly happened at the Beaufort County Courthouse on June 29. It was handled without further incident — the man was involuntarily committed to the mental ward at Vidant Beaufort Hospital. The firearm he carried was not real, but it was real enough to momentarily fool anyone who saw it, according to Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Charlie Rose.

“At a reasonable distance, it would be enough for a person to assume that it is, in fact, a gun,” Rose said. “If I was to look up a Colt Anaconda, it would look scarily similar to this.”

Security concerns regarding the Beaufort County Courthouse were already an issue — a committee comprised of Beaufort County commissioners, county and court employees has been meeting since February to discuss the need for better security. For stakeholders, Monday’s incident served to heighten those concerns and illustrate that something needs to be done sooner, rather than later.

“It’s not a matter that you can keep putting off — ‘Let’s wait for something to happen.’ That’s a poor justification,” said Chief District Court Judge Michael Paul. “I think someone coming into the courthouse, claiming to be a federal agent, with a handgun and handcuffs — that’s indicative of what could happen.”

“We have nothing in place to stop those people from coming in here,” said Beaufort County Clerk of Superior Court Marty Paramore. “He should have never got into this building with a gun.”

At the heart of the issue is funding. While the sheriff’s office is charged with keeping the court safe, with a staff of five bailiffs in a courthouse where four different courts could be in session at one time, the need is for more manpower, more equipment and training for new hires. Even then, architecturally, the existing layout of the courthouse does not lend itself to security, and each solution to an existing security gap presents a host of new problems, Rose said.

Where the Beaufort County Courthouse has two entrances for the public, the National Center for State Courts recommends a single public entrance with a manned security checkpoint for anyone entering the building. That’s how new courthouses are built, but in Beaufort County, more than those heading for court are coming in and out. Between business with the Clerk’s and Register of Deeds offices, many courthouse visitors have no business at all with the courts. A single entry and security checkpoint, and the wait that might entail, could make what was previously a quick trip to the courthouse a much longer prospect.

It would be worth it, however, to ensure the safety of the public and the county employees who work there every day, according to Paul.

“We’re all stakeholders in this thing and we all need to work together on this and realize that security is going to be inconvenient,” Paul said. “To people who work here, to the officials who hold court here, and the public who comes into this building to do business here. But the tradeoff is security for inconvenience. … You have to limit access to the building.”

Last week, court officials and employees were given panic buttons — a punch of a button and the county communications office knows where to send responding officers. It’s a first step in finding solutions to potential threats of which the public in general is not aware, unlike those who work in the courthouse. According to Paul, once a week something happens that raises concerns to some degree, whether it’s an escalating argument in a courtroom or threatening correspondence. There’s also a list of those who have been identified as threats, who are to be removed if they set foot on the premises. Even the purpose of the courts  isn’t an ally to security.

“We’re not here giving out good citizenship awards,” Paul said. “We’re punishing (people) and sometimes taking things away from them. We create desperate people, unfortunately.”

The next step is in the works: Lt. Travis Robinson with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, who specializes in courthouse security, is due to meet with the courthouse security committee. An inspection of Beaufort County’s courthouse and recommendations to address security issues will follow. While Beaufort County Commissioners earmarked $200,000 for additional court personnel in 2015-16 budget, some officials question whether it will be enough to close security gaps.

“We need equipment; we need personnel. The building has to change. We have to change the entrances, the exits, traffic flow-through,” Rose said. “Right now, we are funded (to secure) the courtrooms.”

“If we have to increase the funding, we’ll increase the funding,” said Commissioner Ron Buzzeo, who sits on the courthouse security committee. “It’s our obligation as commissioners to protect the residents of this county, the employees of this county. It’s one of the many things we’re responsible for. … Nothing happened this time, but we can’t wait for something to happen.”

“It’s just a matter of getting everybody to recognize what takes place in the courthouse as a whole and developing a plan that will keep everyone safe. We’re not just talking about court officials. We’re talking about everyone,” Paramore said.

Spurred by Monday’s incident, the Sheriff’s Office, county commissioners, court officials and employees all seem to be on the same page: moving forward now to create a safer environment for any visitor to the courthouse, regardless of their business.

“This is an issue that we all have to work together on. This is an issue that is important. It goes beyond politics,” Paul said.