Nurse kills burglar

[pwd72s]

I wonder how British law would handle this case?

Nurse, 51, strangles intruder in her home
Self-defense - Susan Kuhnhausen wins a deadly struggle against a convicted felon armed with a hammer
Friday, September 08, 2006
MAXINE BERNSTEIN
An emergency room nurse who arrived home Wednesday night to find a strange man inside her Southeast Portland house strangled him to death with her hands after a violent struggle.

Neighbors say Susan E. Kuhnhausen, 51, had just gotten off work at Providence Portland Medical Center and was still in her scrubs when she returned to her tidy home in the 7900 block of Southeast Alder Street shortly after 6 p.m.

Police say there was no obvious signs of forced entry in the front of the house. So Kuhnhausen was surprised to find an intruder inside. The stranger, neighbors say, was armed with a hammer. But the veteran emergency nurse went into crisis mode and escaped with only a few bruises and scrapes.

After the struggle, she ran to a neighboring house for help, and the neighbor called 9-1-1 at 6:51 p.m. By the time police arrived, 59-year-old Edward Dalton Haffey,, a convicted felon with a long record, lay dead in her home.

"Everyone that I've talked to today says 'Hurray' for Susan," said Anne Warnock, the neighbor who called 9-1-1. "She's a very brave and courageous woman. If they're picking teams, we want to be on her team."

Under state statute, a person can use a reasonable degree of deadly force when defending themselves against an intruder or someone who is burglarizing their home. But police said the case was unusual in that a homeowner acting in self-defense strangled an intruder, as opposed to using a weapon, such as a firearm or knife.

"But when you're fighting for your life, you will use whatever means is necessary," said Portland Officer Cathe Kent, a police spokeswoman. "In this case, the homeowner did what she had to do to get out safely."

A man who answered the phone at Kuhnhausen's home Thursday night declined to comment.

The neighbor said Kuhnhausen wasn't too shaken up when she fled to her house.

"You didn't need to calm her," Warnock said. "She's an emergency room nurse. She's used to dealing with crisis. She was very clear thinking and took care of the problem."

An ambulance was called to take Kuhnhausen to Providence Portland Medical Center for treatment. She walked to the gurney, Warnock said. Police said she was treated and released from the hospital Wednesday night.

Haffey -- a slight man of about 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, according to his driver's license -- was released from prison in November 2003, following a 20-year sentence for robbery out of Douglas County and a 1994 conspiracy to commit aggravated murder conviction in Polk County, according to Perrin Damon, an Oregon Department of Corrections spokeswoman. Since 1985, Haffey also has been convicted of delivery and manufacture of drugs and possession of burglary tools.

Kuhnhausen's size, at about 5-foot-7, 260 pounds, may have also given her some advantage over her opponent, neighbors said.

She's been a nurse for 30 years and has served as secretary of the Oregon Emergency Nurses Association.

In a 2005 association newsletter, she wrote about how she'd "probably seen it all" on the job and was pushing for legislation to prevent violence against nurses in the workplace.

"I've been assaulted twice and bit, hit, kicked and punched by patients . . . who know better . . .," she wrote.

"The potential for violence at the hospital always exists and we need to send a message that it's not okay to assault any public servant whether it be a police officer, firefighter or nurse."

Paula Derr, a Life Flight nurse who is a fellow member of the emergency nurses association, said Kuhnhausen is an outstanding nurse and strong advocate for protecting nurses.

She said Kuhnhausen is helping raise a grandchild at her home. Neighbors said the child was not in the home Wednesday night.

Derr says she's not surprised how Kuhnhausen reacted to the stranger in her house. "She was struggling for her life, like any of us would," Derr said. "She's strong, solid in stature."

Residents of Kuhnhausen's neighborhood were pleased with her actions, and glad she wasn't hurt too bad.

They spoke of other break-ins around the neighborhood in recent months, as well as car prowls. Deanna Hall, who lives nearby, said a man entered her home in midafternoon July 13 when she was home with her three young children. She said she had to keep him at bay with a knife until he ran out, and police arrested him.

"I wish I had that much strength," Hall said, talking of Kuhnhausen.

She said Kuhnhausen's ability to withstand what she sees in the emergency room for three decades says a lot about her character.

"Anybody that could be the type of nurse she has been for so long says a lot about her compassion and love," she said. "But she knows when to put her foot down. And, she doesn't take crap from anybody."

Oregonian researchers Lynne Palombo and Kathleen Blythe contributed to this story.

Maxine Bernstein: 503-221-8212; maxinebernstein@news.oregonian.com

[sammyg2]

she is 5'7" and 250 pounds? All she had to do was sit on him.

[pwd72s]

We need to pass laws to prevent this, obviously. I mean, what about the burglar's "rights" in this case? Shouldn't we ban the deadly weapons used against this poor man? All 5'7", 250 pound women should be locked up in the interest of public safety...did she blindly use her hands in the dark?

[Steve PH]

I wonder how British law would handle this case?

If strangling the guy was considered "to be using reasonable force in self defence" than she should be ok by British law.... Hopefully!. The thing is if you take the story at face value, you have a nurse heroicaly defending herself and home against a violent intruder but perhaps the "intruder" was lured to the house and then murderd by our chubby ninja nurse as part of diabolical plot! Maybe she is a secret mafia hit women?

[SlowToady]

Lock her up and throw away the key; there is absoutley no place for behavoir like this in a civilized society. The first thing she should have done, would be to flee the house, not stay and confront the burgular. Criminals shouldn't have to worry about whether they are in danger of life or limb by the innocent while they are conducting their criminal activities.

Sounds like Murder to me. How's life sound?

[Rodeo]

She acted completely within her rights ... and good for her.

I will point out that she did not chase the guy outside, strangle him as he tried desperately to get away, and then leave him to die in her yard while she went to bed.

So there is NO comparison of any kind to the British case we discussed earlier.

[Nathans_Dad]

I disagree. She strangled a man TO DEATH. Usually a person will become unconscious or incapacitated prior to actually dying from strangulation. Therefore, she continued her stranglehold past the point that the intruder was incapacitated.

I think this was unreasonable use of force and infringed on the burglars rights. Fry her.

[Rodeo]

If she had starved him to death, you'd have a point.

[Icemaster]

Please tell me your kidding...

A woman whos job it is to help, eliminates a parasite whos apparent role (in life) is malevolant and has been a pox on society and taxpayers for years and you want to fry her?

She oughta be given a medal.

[pwd72s]

I'm not sure that the death penalty should be applied, but definitely she should be severely punished. Not only did she kill the guy, she deprived him of future pursuit of happiness, considering his record. The NERVE of her friends & neighbors to say she did the right thing. Who are they to judge? Only ACLU lawyers should be allowed to express an opinion on this one.

[Rodeo]

What would you guys do without straw men?

If you had to stick to actual facts (remember those?), you'd have nothing to say.

[Tobra]

Makes me mindful of my wife's tenure in the ER. She is 5'3'' and about 105 lb. One evening this woman who had tried to do herself in with pills was recovering after ahaving her stomach pumped, along with the activated charcoal bit.

The restraints are coming off, the woman sits up and latches onto my wife's arm, with her teeth. The woman, who was about 5'8' and 200+ lb, the wife is trying to get her to let loose, and asks the doctor what to do. The doc, a 6'5" former Marine, replies, hit her. So my bride curls up a nice tight fist and knocks the woman unconcious with one punch. This impresses the doctor, who asks what she hit her with. She shows him her fist, and he is skeptical, offering his arm for her to punch. She is reluctant to use her full force, until he encourages her. She left a mark on his arm that was apparently visible the next day.

She has a lot of interesting stories.

[Superman]

Like I said in a previous, related thread: Where I come from, there is no special license needed for killing burlgars inside peoples' houses. No special tags or stamps to buy. You sneak into somebody's house at night and get caught......your chances of survival are very poor. Everyone understands that in north Idaho. Interestingly, burlaries are rare.

[Nathans_Dad]

Originally posted by Rodeo
If she had starved him to death, you'd have a point.

I strenuously disagree, counselor. As a medical doctor, I can tell you that a person WILL lose consciousness prior to death, perhaps only 30 seconds before, perhaps minutes. The bottom line is that the person being strangled ceases to be a threat to the strangler a significant amount of time before death ensues.

Therefore, she had reasonable time to control herself and release her stranglehold on the victims neck. Excessive use of force, obviously.

[rexav8r]

To an unwanted, afterhours home visitor like our boy here...

Nothing says "Hi There" like the sound of a 12 guage pump chambering the first round in the dark silence...

[DavidI]

I say give the woman a medal and thank her for getting rid of the bad guy. In fact, I would treat her to an "all you can eat" dinner

David

[Drago]

Originally posted by Superman
Like I said in a previous, related thread: Where I come from, there is no special license needed for killing burlgars inside peoples' houses. No special tags or stamps to buy. You sneak into somebody's house at night and get caught......your chances of survival are very poor. Everyone understands that in north Idaho. Interestingly, burlaries are rare.

Yes, Sup, but how about where you live now???

[Superman]

Originally posted by Drago
Yes, Sup, but how about where you live now???

If a burglar were in my house at night and a gun were handy, I would shoot them dead and then become interested in repercussions.

[Drago]

Originally posted by Superman
If a burglar were in my house at night and a gun were handy, I would shoot them dead and then become interested in repercussions.

I expect that. I was referring more to where you live now and how much different it is from N. Idaho.

[Superman]

Western Washington is FAR different from my home town. For example, people in Western Washington......READ. You know, newspapers, books, stuff like that. N. Idaho is Bush Country.

Speaking of which, I wonder why the White House is not touting Dubya's literary accomplishments. Isn't he the guy who was proud of his dismissal of reading just a few years ago?