After 35 years, a beloved island policeman retires

Published 1:01 pm Friday, February 17, 2012

He has lived and breathed law enforcement for decades.

Now he is hanging up his handcuffs, putting down the pager and embarking on a new life as a civilian.

“It’s going to be a struggle for me to disengage from this,” said sergeant Steve Vierthaler. “I am not an adrenaline junky, but I like being in the know, I enjoy knowing what’s going on. I’ve always worked. It will be weird to not have that.”

Vierthaler has been a police officer on Orcas for 35 years – the majority of his career. As the longest-running employee in the history of the sheriff’s department, he has been with his fellow islanders through it all: car crashes, suicides, domestic violence, break-ins, drug busts and speeding tickets.

“He has been so dedicated to the entire force and the people of Orcas Island,” said former sheriff Bill Cumming, who worked with Steve during his 24 years in office. Cumming first met him while working in the probation department. “He is well known and trusted as bringing maturity to situations. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him.”

His life in the force

Growing up in Mountlake Terrace, Vierthaler was a hot rodder. He liked cars. He liked cars that went fast even better.

“I had a lot of contact with law enforcement. We had a love/hate relationship,” Vierthaler said. “I deserved all of the tickets I got, but some of the police officers were nice about it and some were jerks. I always thought, ‘If I ever become a cop, I want to be nice and more fair.’”

It’s a credo that he has stuck by throughout his many years wearing the badge. As a sergeant for the past 20 years, he has taught his deputies that there is “a lot of grey” in law enforcement.

“It’s not black and white, and we need to have heart and compassion,” he said. “I try to teach them not to be robots but be a thinking person.”

What appealed to Vierthaler about being a policeman was the independence and diversity of work. He started out in the Seattle Police Department in 1975, where he was a reserve police officer for two years.

“I worked wherever there was a shortage,” Vierthaler said. “I worked at a lot of rock concerts: The Who, the Stones, Paul McCartney, AC/DC.”

After being “disenchanted” with the SPD, he applied for jobs “all over the place,” including in the San Juans. Vierthaler was familiar with Shaw Island, as his grandparents had lived there in the 1950s. When he was chosen for a post in Friday Harbor, he was afraid the whole county was quiet like Shaw. At the last minute, a post opened up on Orcas and his life took a different turn.

“At the time, I wasn’t sure, but it was the best decision of my life,” he said.

Vierthaler was a founding member of the Sheriff’s Guild in 1980 along with fellow Orcas deputy Roger Dixon and Greg Doss from Lopez. The guild is an in-house association (similar to a union) that represents law enforcement in such matters as wage bargaining with the county and disciplinary action.

Vierthaler also started the canine program in 1979, which lasted 12 years, as well as the department’s car program. He has overseen the purchasing, design and maintenance of police vehicles for the entire county.

As a sergeant, he oversees the daily operations on Orcas and Lopez. That includes writing reports, scheduling shifts, handling complaints and managing deputies.

Vierthaler says the most difficult calls are suicides and accidents that involve kids. The weirdest incident was when a military torpedo washed ashore on North Beach.

“One of the most memorable cases was Colton Harris-Moore,” said Vierthaler, referring to the burglar known as the Barefoot Bandit. “It was frustrating. We worked our asses off but couldn’t catch him,” he said.

When Vierthaler first started his career, crime was seasonal and generally occurred on Friday and Saturday. Now calls come in 24/7. He says he gets calls in the middle of the night, when he’s in the shower, on holidays and sick.

“My life hasn’t been my life for 35 years,” he said. “I am tired of being on-call, tired of being short on man power. We’re under constant pressure.”

He is staying on the island, where he plans to continue to work at NAPA three days a week. His wife of 19 years, Adrienne, is a dental hygienist at Dr. Bailey’s and his brother Paul runs Island Excavating. Steve’s passion is still automobiles. He recently purchased a black Jaguar.

While Steve has trepidations about settling into a life of retirement, his friend and former boss Cumming, who retired last year, thinks he will be just fine.

“I have mixed emotions about Steve retiring. But there is life after law enforcement, and I think he will be pleasantly surprised when he gets to this side of the equation, as I was,” he said.

Sheriff Rob Nou says the department is currently considering changes for the qualification of sergeant. A replacement for Vierthaler will come from within the current force and will likely be decided in 2013.

“In the interim, we will backfill positions to ensure adequate coverage – there will certainly will be supervision,” Nou said.

As Vierthaler reflects back on his career, he says the best part of his job has been making his own decisions, leading investigations, the variety of his work day and getting to know “so many cool people.”

“He will be missed,” Nou said. “I have always valued what he does, his dependability, his consistency, his dedication and commitment and his leadership. He’s well liked and well respected. I extend a really heartfelt thank you for his years of service and nothing but best wishes as he opens the next chapter of his life.”

Community party for Steve

All are invited to a community celebration for sergeant Steve Vierthaler from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Eastsound Fire Hall on Feb. 18.