New county deputy leads graduating class

BONNERS FERRY — The Boundary County Sheriff’s Office has a new deputy. His name is Allen Schlief; he recently completed his 17-week peace officer training and was president of his graduating class, but this is not his first foray into law enforcement.

According to Sheriff Dave Kramer, Schlief brings much law enforcement experience from his former home in Wisconsin and has already connected with the community.

Schlief worked in Milwaukee for 15 years, a city with increased gang activity and violence; eventually moving to Denver, working for the Federal Reserve in Denver for five years. He moved up to Boundary County a bit sooner than initially planned.

With their two children, Allen Schlief and his wife, Cassy, decided to move to a community with strong connections and appreciation for law enforcement, moving out of the troubles found in the city.

Allen Schlief noted that the support for law enforcement was strong in Boundary County. He worked for years in the community and met with law enforcement leaders who approached him to potentially get back into law enforcement.

“I ended up meeting Sheriff Kramer, Chief Zimmerman and Marty Ryan and they kind of talked me into it and said, 'hey why don’t you come over, we can use some help,' ” Allen Schlief said.

Schlief is trying to get back into the groove but plans to be involved in community outreach, just like many of the region's law enforcement do when their specialties can help out the community.

“We’re grateful to have Allen in the sheriff’s office,” Kramer said, “He’s bringing a good balance of experience to the job and is a great fit for the community and the sheriff’s office."

Schlief stated that he strives to be a good neighbor who wants to raise his boys right to be good citizens, supporting his wife and her career and developing as a law enforcement officer to do the best job possible for the community.

According to Kramer, Schlief brings empathy and strives to get through to people with compassion and concern to help those in need, especially in a tight-knit community like Boundary County.

“We keep hoping that something will click so they can make the changes in their life, but we know they’re still going to be our neighbors in the community,” Kramer said.

In the 17-week peace officer training at North Idaho College, Schlief received instruction from more than 50 instructors, tailoring the knowledge toward the law enforcement needs of North Idaho.

According to Undersheriff Richard Stevens, Schlief went through many challenges in training because of COVID disruptions, and the challenges of being away from family.

“We're really happy to have Allen here,” Stevens said.

According to Schlief, it’s a different form of law enforcement compared to what he has done before in a big city - with backup potentially being half an hour away, helicopter rescues in woods, and cars rolling down cliffs - but he looks forward to all the growth and new challenges.

“It’s a new learning experience, which I like as a challenge,” Schlief said.