Letter to the Editor

from The Oregonian

Nothing prepares you'

Clackamas County was once my home and where I raised my children. I was a sergeant in the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office until retiring in 2001.

The shooting at Chez Ami Apartments last Friday was tragic. My heart goes out to the family and friends of Joyce Staudenmaier. For years they have loved her and have done everything possible to protect and guide her.

Mental illness is such a confusing disease. I am without doubt that Staudenmaier saw Sgt. Paul Steigleder II as a horrible, evil threat that she had to protect herself from. And then she attacked that threat.

No matter how much training you have, nothing prepares you for a violent response from a mentally ill person with a weapon.

To take a person's life is a nightmare for a police officer. It is the dreaded moment that no police officer ever wants to face. When Staudenmaier saw her demon and tried to protect herself from it, it gave Steigleder only seconds to protect himself.

My heart goes out to both families. We all need to have compassion and understanding for both families. From having been in Steigleder's shoes, I know his thoughts and feelings. We wish everyone with criticism and advice could have been in our shoes, with our feelings.

VAUGHN C. KLIER, Towner County Sheriff Perth, N.D.