05:49 PM PDT on Friday, September 3, 2004

By ABE ESTIMADA, kgw.com Staff

A knife-wielding resident at a housing unit for people suffering from mental illness was fatally shot by a Clackamas County sergeant after she threatened him and her neighbors.

DMV/KGW Joyce Staudenmire.

Joyce Staudenmaier, 36, was shot once in the chest when it appeared she was about to stab another resident, a sheriff’s spokesman said.

Staudenmaier was alive when she was transported to Oregon Health & Science University Hospital. But she died later Friday afternoon.

Sgt. Paul Steigleder II, who has about 20 years experience with the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, is on paid administrative leave following the shooting, said Deputy Joel Manley.

Steigleder is a 41-year-old supervisor who is "well respected by his supervisors, peers, subordinates and by the community he serves," Manley said.

KGW The scene of the shooting at Chez Ami housing project in Clackamas County.

The sergeant was summoned to the Chez Ami housing complex on 8358 SE Causey St. in Clackamas County to help mental health staff take Staudenmire into custody for an evaluation about 10 a.m. on Friday, according to Manley.

Authorities were called to Chez Ami because Staudenmaier was known to carry a weapon in her purse, Manley said. When Steigleder arrived at Chez Ami, Staudenmaier wasn’t home.

At some point, Staudenmaier came back to the building where she lived and began threatening about five residents in the lobby with a knife. The sergeant saw Staudenmaier and went into the lobby.

Staudenmaier saw the sergeant and began walking towards him with the knife raised, Manley said. But between she and the sergeant was another resident.

“She was holding the knife above her head” and looked as if she was going to stab the resident, Manley said. That’s when the sergeant made the decision to fire one shot from his service pistol, he said.

Witnesses also said Staudenmaier was so close to the sergeant that they thought that he was stabbed.

The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate the officer-involved shooting.