POLICE standoff changes wedding plans for local couple

A Tulsa Police standoff Sunday and Monday, led to a wedding disaster for the woman living beneath the suspect. Paula Standfield was supposed to get married Monday, but after the spray from the police

Tuesday, July 24th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A Tulsa Police standoff Sunday and Monday, led to a wedding disaster for the woman living beneath the suspect. Paula Standfield was supposed to get married Monday, but after the spray from the police water cannon caved in her ceiling and flooded her apartment, she had to put the wedding on hold. Now, she's going through a flood of emotions, feelings she shared with KOTVâ€™s Paul Serrell in an exclusive interview.

What was supposed to be Paula Standfield's wedding day has instead become one of the worst days of her life. Her apartment and just about all her possessions got ruined during their neighbor's 24-hour standoff with police. The SWAT team evacuated Standfield, her two young children and her fiancÃ©e before the water came raining down. But still, the four of them spent 12 hours stuck in the apartment with shooting and shouting going on.

Standfield says 6-year-old Cameron seemed to take things in stride, but that five-year-old Caleigh was scared. "It was just too hard for her she was crying afraid that. She was more afraid that they were going to kill me than her. That's what she said. She didn't want me to die." Caleigh also recalls the fire that some of the tear gas set off. "They had a fire up there while we were down there. I didn't like it when that happened.

As for the wedding dress Standfield was supposed to wear, it smells of tear gas, but should be â€˜okâ€™ once it's been to the cleaners. The shoes may not make it though. They got soaked. Worse, Standfield and Lucas will have to build their new life together from scratch. They don't have renter's insurance. So recovering from their losses will be tough. You know they say love conquers all, but you didn't know it was going to be a standoff and shooting." "No I didn't. But it's caused a lot of problems and a lot of tension, but I believe if we can work through that we can work through just about anything."

Paula and Steve hope to reschedule with the Justice of the Peace for later this week. They're staying with family until they can get themselves and the children back on their feet.