Douglas County deploys first threat mitigation K-9 at courthouse

Douglas County has added a new layer of courthouse security with Bodhi, an English Springer Spaniel described as the first threat mitigation dog in the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. Working with Deputy Johnna Kripal, Bodhi is being used to help secure the Douglas County courthouse and civic center, where the sheriff’s office already handles court security.

The deployment comes as the county pushes ahead with a major courthouse-centered facilities project that is meant to change how people move through the downtown justice campus. County commissioners approved an $82 million project budget in December 2024 for improvements and an expansion of the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center, along with a new Public Safety Building next to the jail.

That construction plan is designed to create separate paths of travel for members of the public, staff members and people in custody. County leaders have said the goal is to improve court operations, a change that could affect daily movement around the historic courthouse at 1100 Massachusetts St. and the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center at 111 E. 11th St. in Lawrence.

For courthouse users, the immediate change is not a building project but a dog and handler pair now working the grounds. The sheriff’s office said Bodhi adds another layer of security at the courthouse, a role that fits into the agency’s existing court-security duties and the wider push to harden the county’s justice facilities.

The addition also underscores how Douglas County is trying to balance access and security in a downtown courthouse district that serves judges, county staff, attorneys, jurors and the public. By pairing a threat-mitigation K-9 with the planned separation of travel paths in the new facilities project, county officials are aiming to reduce points of conflict in a complex where public contact, custodial movement and courtroom business all intersect.