When law officers must get in harm's way

While we wait for the details of the events that led up to Saturday's shooting that left one man dead and two deputies wounded at Harrah's Lake Tahoe, It's worth pausing to remember the risks taken by law enforcement every day.

They are left to deal with society's problems. Where others want to turn and flee, it is up to officers such as Dan Nelson and Erik Eissinger of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office to confront those problems - especially when they involve a man with a gun.

It's been a particularly tough year for Douglas deputies. An April 2 shooting in a Gardnerville mobile-home park injured Robert Duffy, sidelining him for five months. We hope the injuries to Nelson and Eissinger aren't as serious.

Any time law officers must confront an armed man, it's a serious situation. In Saturday's incident, it was inside a crowded Stateline casino - although in a high-stakes room apart from most of the patrons.

Early indications point to a mentally unstable man, Harvey Ex, 53, a resident of a San Diego suburb, who had bought antique guns earlier in the day and was bent on self-destruction.

Exactly how the shooting transpired isn't clear yet, but we do know the two deputies stepped into harm's way to deal with Ex, and that a shootout ensued in which Ex was killed.

To Nelson and Eissinger go our best wishes on a speedy recovery from a traumatic event. To the families of law officers everywhere, our appreciation for living with a sense of uncertainty every day.

Setting it straight: An editorial on this page of Sunday's edition lambasted the developer of a proposed Combs Canyon housing subdivision, but unfortunately incorrectly listed Lumos and Associates as that developer.

Loomis and Associates, a longtime Carson City firm, is engineer and planner on the project. The developer is Steve Selinger of Barton Properties, and what we found objectionable - threat of a lawsuit over affordable housing - came from his attorneys.

We still object, but not to anything done by Lumos and Associates.