[1]Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield will retire from law enforcement at the end of this year.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield announced to his employees yesterday he will retire at the end of the year, telling them the last time he ran for office, he knew it would probably be his final four years.
Mansfield, 56, said part of it was for his family.
“It’s not good, it’s not bad, it is what it is,” he said. “I’ll miss all of you.”
The rural Winlock resident was first elected in 2005, after being appointed almost a year earlier to fill out the term of former Sheriff John McCroskey.
His words came yesterday afternoon at the sheriff’s office annual gathering to recognize and reward exemplary performance. The meeting was held at Bethel Church of the Assemblies of God in Napavine.
The final honor he bestowed was one of his engraved coins he handed to his wife, Jill Mansfield who joined him on the stage in the large chapel.
“You don’t sit in this chair and deal with what you deal with and come out alright without someone like this,” he said.
With sometimes unconcealed emotion, Mansfield shared his shifted view of their law enforcement role as warriors to that of guardians of the community.
Mansfield recounted to the group the four days in December some of them spent in a standoff with a suicidal and mentally ill young man in Winlock. He commended Deputy Chris Ruben for the compassion he showed the parents, who sent a card saying they knew all did their best, even though their son shot himself.
Mansfield said while their organization has faced challenges, he feels that together they have made a positive difference in each others lives and in the community.
“You are the protectors, you are the ones that people call when there’s no one else to call,” he said. “Thank you all for an interesting, sometimes painful, and all in all very rewarding ride.”
Mansfield, whose law enforcement career began at the sheriff’s office in the early 1980s, rose to the top among four members of the office who sought the appointment after McCroskey stepped down in mid-term.
A Republican, he won the office again in 2006, but in 2010, one of his sergeant’s, Ken Cheeseman, made a strong showing, following a controversy over Mansfield’s handling of a runaway case involving the teenage girlfriend of his son.
He said he’s unaware of anyone other than Rob Snaza, another one of his sergeants, planning to run for sheriff in November.
Among the honors Mansfield presented before making his announcement was a meritorious service medal to detective Bruce Kimsey for working the decades old Maurin murder case like a puzzle and helping gain a conviction last fall.
He gave four individuals a Guardian Award, which replaced his previous Warrior of the Year Award. They are Deputy Sue Shannon, Sgt. Snaza, Jail Chief Kevin Hanson and Lisa Arthur who works with the sex offender registration.
Also named employees of the year for 2013, were the following:
• Operations Bureau: Deputy Tim English
• Support staff: Kari Lupo
• Corrections Bureau: Daniel Spanski-Dreffin