TONOPAH -- When it comes to protecting public officials at county meetings, the men and women wearing the brown uniform of the Nye County Sheriff's Office may be the best bet.

That was the conclusion reached after Nye County Commissioner Peter Liakopoulos was rebuffed Tuesday on a request to hire a private security firm for county meetings.

Sheriff Tony DeMeo said he has a plainclothes deputy, James Scott, attending Nye County Commission and Pahrump Regional Planning Commission meetings after an incident last fall in which Sam Jones, who carried a gun, aggressively challenged Liakopoulos at the conclusion of a county commission meeting.

Jones later filed battery charges against Liakopoulos, which are still pending.

DeMeo said a county commissioner had previously asked Scott to be in plainclothes. But the sheriff said he would change the policy in line with Liakopoulos's request for uniformed security.

"If you desire, I'll inform Dep. Scott to be here conspicuous in uniform. But I think the reason I took that approach, in all fairness, was to be sure people weren't going to be intimidated by the presence of a uniformed deputy," DeMeo said.

The commission had more reason to be concerned about safety after a gunman opened fire at a public meeting in Missouri recently.

DeMeo noted the first thing the gunman did in Missouri was to shoot two officers who were conspicuous and out in the open.