"My guys have had incidents in the past where people have barricaded themselves inside," said Lancaster County Sheriff Johnny Cauthen, who has a three-officer unit serve civil summonses. "Evictions can be risky, and of course in August one of my guys was hit. We directly addressed this situation this morning before my guys went on the road."

The Abbeville family was apparently angry over a land dispute with state transportation officials, and a 13-hour standoff where suspects barricaded themselves inside ended with two officers dead.

Local deputies serve papers about government land condemnations and evictions almost every day and officers say they never know what is on the other side of the door.

Lt. Jimmy Fudge of the York County Sheriff's Office supervises six officers who serve criminal warrants in two-man cars and single officers, including himself, who serve civil papers. Officers serve thousands of people every year, including some that Fudge said, "aren't real happy about property condemnations or evictions."

"I am telling my guys today they need to be careful," Fudge said Tuesday. "Extra careful."

Chester County Sheriff Robby Benson said officers serving a search warrant in a drug case recently were threatened, but limited manpower forces Benson to have officers serve criminal and civil papers alone.

"Traffic stops, domestic calls and serving papers are all potentially very dangerous," Benson said.

Contact Andrew Dys at 329-4065 or mailto:adys@heraldonline.com