Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Over 1,000 weapons were intercepted by the weapons screening program at the Olmsted County Government Center since it was launched one year ago.

photo by Kim David/Townsquare Media
photo by Kim David/Townsquare Media
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The Sheriff’s Department began screening visitors headed to the courts or other county offices above the main floor of the government on May 2, 2016 following the completion of an over $10 million dollar expansion project.

During the first 12 months, nearly 99,000 people were screened by deputies, which works out to an average of nearly 400 per day when the Government Center was open for business. Those visitors had almost 116,000 items that had to be screened using an x-ray scanner for an average of around 460 each day.

Officials say the screening process resulted in the interception of 1,017 items that were considered weapons. That total includes objects that were seized by deputies, turned over to the Sheriff’s Department at the screening site, returned to the owner to be taken to their vehicle, and those that were dropped into trash containers or disposed of in another manner before the holder went through screening.

One of the more notable incidents at the screening site occurred in March when a man showed up at the Government Center for a meeting with his probation officer. While emptying his pockets into a tray for the x-ray scanner, the man tossed in a small baggie containing 1.5 grams of meth. The criminal complaint says the deputy asked 29-year-old Zachary Lutzke what was in the baggie and he muttered, “my meth.”

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