Wednesday, October 21, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
5
Bend officer is seeking sheriff’s office
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
Bend Police Department
Patrol Officer Scott Schaier
is challenging incumbent
Sheriff Shane Nelson for the
county9s top law enforce-
ment job in the November 3
election.
He told The Nugget that
he was motivated to run by
conversations he9s had with
law enforcement officers,
including deputies from
DCSO that he believes indi-
cate a leadership change is
needed.
<Part of me just believes
that no election should go
uncontested, no matter the
size of the election or the
position,= he said.
Schaier began his law
enforcement career with
the Las Vegas Metropolitan
Police Department and,
since moving with his wife
to Central Oregon in 2013,
he has served with the Bend
Police Department as a
patrol officer, training offi-
cer, and as a member of the
Central Oregon Emergency
Response Team. He was
serving as a school resource
officer until the COVID-19
school closures and is cur-
rently working patrol.
Schaier acknowledged
that he has no administrative
or command experience in
law enforcement and has not
sought promotion within his
agency.
<I9ve never applied to
promote in my career at this
point,= he said.
The candidate told The
Nugget that, while he sees
the value in promoting
through the ranks tradition-
ally, he believes that the
office of sheriff requires a
fresh outlook and tempera-
ment in order to change the
culture.
<When we promote or
elect the same résumé, we
get the same result,= he said.
He also noted that he
managed personnel and bud-
gets in the private sector in
his family9s car business
in Long Beach, California,
before transitioning into a
law-enforcement career.
<Your role is to take care
of the staff and they will take
care of the customer,= he
said.
Taking care of the staff,
for Schaier means attentive-
ness to the well-being of
sheriff9s office personnel. He
acknowledged recent moves
by the sheriff 9s office to
institute wellness programs
for deputies, but he argues
that Sheriff Nelson was slow
to move in that direction
when other agencies were
already acting in the area.
<It9s about revolutioniz-
ing the profession,= he said.
<That would be top priority.=
Schaier believes that the
sheriff9s office has been slow
to adapt, in part due to its
command structure. He told
The Nugget that he would
establish an Undersheriff
position to help manage day-
to-day operations so that the
sheriff can focus on strategic
planning and building com-
munity relationships.
<We9re not seeing a lot of
motivation and foresight&
what are we going to do
years down the road?= he
said.
<I think we need to learn
a little bit more from the pri-
vate sector about deadlines,=
he said. <We don9t need to
wait years to implement
these new ideas.=
Schaier is supportive of
the DCSO9s enhanced pres-
ence in Sisters, established
through a new contract
agreed between DCSO and
the city of Sisters this year.
<Having that dedicated
team out there in Sisters is
very important,= Schaier
said.
Schaier said that he would
expect deputies to attend
homeowners association
meetings, Chamber meetings
and integrate themselves into
the life of the community.
He said that he would
work closely with City lead-
ers and other agency chiefs,
particularly to ensure that the
Re-Elect
Andrea Blum
Sisters City
Council
Member!
Five years of working hard to protect
and enhance the livability of Sisters!
This ad paid for by Andrea Blum.
area is prepared for wildfire
impacts.
<My style of leadership is,
without question, collabora-
tive,= he said.
The candidate also
expressed a willingness
to meet with virtually any
organization 4 outside of
outright hate groups 4 at a
time when law enforcement
is under intense scrutiny and
public pressure.
<I think this is a time
when we need a sheriff who
can build those bridges,= he
said. <Our profession needs
to do a little better job at
times humbling themselves
and just listening.=
Schaeir has intense per-
sonal experience of the
intersection of mental health
and law enforcement. In
December 2016, Schaeir
and another Bend PD officer
shot and killed 31-year-old
Michael Jacques during a
traffic stop. Jacques report-
edly struggled with addiction
and mental health issues.
An Oregon Department
of Justice investigation con-
cluded there wasn9t sufficient
evidence to find Schaier
criminally liable. In 2018,
the City of Bend9s insurance
company paid an $800,000
settlement to Jacques9 family.
Year-round
FIREWOOD
SALES
— Kindling —
—
—
SISTERS
FOREST PRODUCTS
541-410-4509
SistersForestProducts.com
The officer told The Nugget
previously that he was not
privy to the reasoning behind
the settlement.
Schaier told The Nugget
that he continues to be cer-
tain that he made the right
decision to fire his weapon in
that incident, but he wishes
<that he and I9s stars would
never have aligned that
night.=
He said that he sees value
in finding ways to engage
mental health profession-
als in situations that, under
current conditions, usually
start with law enforcement
involvement. That might
be a way to avert situations
becoming confrontations and
turning violent.
<We need to get ahead of
this kind of thing before they
ever occur,= he said.
<Officers are always
going to have to be safe
and they are going to have
to make split-second deci-
sions& and will have to live
My style of leadership
is, without question,
collaborative.
— Scott Schaier
PHOTO PROVIDED
with those decisions for the
rest of their lives,= he said.
The candidate strongly
supports the use of body
cameras.
<They are not the be-all-
end-all to police reform,= he
said. However, he believes
they allow transparency
through the release of <real
time, factual information=
and <they also protect offi-
cers when it comes to fraud-
ulent complaints against
them.=
Schaier said that the cur-
rent national climate of sus-
picion and hostility to law
enforcement can be chal-
lenging, but locally there is
a strong well of support and
trust between law enforce-
ment and the community.
<We9re super fortunate to
have that relationship already
built,= he said.
It9s a relationship he
hopes to continue and
enhance if elected Sheriff of
Deschutes County.
2013 AUDI S5 CABRIOLET
QUATTRO, AWD
V-6, 2-door convertible,
leather, garaged,
1 owner, 93K miles.
Best Price! No Hassles!
CARFAX Certifi ed!
Bring us your trade-ins
and low-mileage
consignments!
$
1 8,900
Sisters Car Connection
541-815-7397 192 W. Barclay Dr., Sisters
Open Enrollment
Starts November 1!
Have questions
before enrolling
or changing plans?
Call our local
COUNTRY Financial ®
Representative,
Linda Alldredge
at 541-549-6946.
Your appointment is FREE!
L Linda Alldredge
541-549-6946
5
1 S. Elm St., Ste. 100,
178
0 Si
Sisters
t
l linda.alldredge@countryfi nancial.com | countryfi nancial.com/linda.alldredge
Health insurance policies are purchased through CC Services Inc., from a third party insurer not affi liated
with COUNTRY Financial. Availability differs by state. 0720-160