Employees of the Munster Clerk-Treasurer’s office say they would feel much safer if their office at Town Hall was walled off with bullet-proof glass from members of the public who stop by to pay bills and conduct other business.
However, the Munster Town Council put the brakes on a request from Clerk-Treasurer Dave Shafer at the April 3 Town Council meeting to hire the Linden Group to design, budget and initiate a bidding process for purchase and installation of a bullet-proof glass enclosure in the office, including an armor plate below the counter to shield employees from a gunshot.
In voting to table the $4,500 expenditure, Councilman Dave Nellans asked that the Linden Group offer a sketch of a possible enclosure and make a presentation at an upcoming council meeting to ascertain the potential cost.
Explaining the needs for bullet-proof glass, Shafer recalled a recent incident when a resident became irate over her water bill and threatened to come back and shoot a deputy clerk. Subsequently, a Munster police detective spoke to the resident and no charges were filed.
The deputy was shaken by the incident and is now in fear for her safety, according to Shafer. The number of belligerent customers appears to be increasing, he said, and in some cases intervention by a police officer is needed. He urged town officials to be proactive on the matter before someone actually carried out such a threat.
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“Our society as a whole is becoming less and less civil,” Shafer said. “In the Clerk-Treasurer’s office we have zero tolerance for that type of behavior.”
Police Chief Steve Scheckel said officers have been called to the office a couple of times this year, and that a police presence has been sufficient to diffuse the situation.
Councilman Andy Koultourides questioned the appropriateness of Shafer’s solution.
“Where does this stop?” he said. “It can become impersonal (for residents). Should we put up bullet-proof glass in the Town Manager’s office, too?”
Jim Masters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.