A brief commotion at the Clallam County Courthouse on Monday morning turned out to be “a big nothingburger,” said Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict.
The doors to the county commissioners’ chambers were locked sometime after 11 a.m. after a man wearing a bandana and neckerchief around his mouth, who was unarmed, entered the foyer and was asked to leave by Clallam County Administrator Rich Sill.
The door to the commissioners’ chambers remained locked for the rest of the day, but all other county departments appeared to be open and functioning normally.
After the commissioners’ meeting adjourned, the commissioners and county staff were shown a screen shot from a courthouse security camera showing what appeared to be a masked man carrying what appeared to be a gun.
However, Benedict said later that was not the case.
“It was just a homeless guy who’s a little weird,” Benedict said. “No, he absolutely was not armed. Someone overheard him saying something about having a gun, but he didn’t.
“Had he had a gun, the whole courthouse would have gone into lockdown,” he added. “Law enforcement never really interacted with him, although he had an interaction with me. He committed no crime except being intimidating.”
________
Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at brian.gawley@sound publishing.com.
