Husband doubts wife had death wish during confrontation

SANDPOINT — Jeanetta Riley’s husband does not believe his wife thought she would be killed by Sandpoint Police last summer.

“She didn’t want to die,” said Shane Riley, who witnessed the deadly confrontation outside Bonner General Health on July 8.

Two officers opened fire on Jeanetta Riley after she refused commands to drop the knife she was holding and walked toward them.

Shane Riley was unaware his wife was dead until near the end of his interview by a Bonner County sheriff’s detective. He thought police shot her with rubber bullets.

“I just assumed that she was alive, but probably hurt really bad, you know? I had no clue there was live ammo,” Riley said.

Riley drove his wife to the hospital because she was making suicidal remarks and threatening to harm whoever tried to get in her way, including police. Given his wife’s remarks, he figured the safest place to take her was Bonner General.

Riley said he went inside and advised a receptionist of the situation and went back out to the van his wife was sitting in. By then, Sandpoint Police had been summoned and arrived in short order.

Eleven seconds later, Jeanetta Riley was mortally wounded outside the hospital’s emergency department. She was 35.

Video footage from a camera worn by Skylar Ziegler showed her refusing commands to drop the knife, cursing at officers and saying, “Bring it on!”

Investigators said Jeanetta Riley advanced on Ziegler and Officer Michael Valenzuela, who have been cleared of any wrongdoing by Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh.

In his interview with Det. Barry Reinink, Riley said it seemed as though his wife was committing suicide by cop. But he does not believe that’s actually what happened.

Riley believes his wife meant to be subdued by police and she didn’t expect lethal force to by employed.

“In her heart of hearts, she didn’t want to leave her kids like that,” Shane Riley said.

Riley said his wife’s episode was tied to a series of events that included giving up their baby for adoption last year, the death of a grandparent she was especially close to and marital strain that was exacerbated by a new pregnancy, alcohol use and homelessness.

Riley said he regrets taking his wife to BGH for help and believes police overreacted. He contends the situation could have been defused without loss of life and doubts that his wife would have really hurt anybody that night.

“Something needs to be done with their training big-time. I think they need to include that word ‘compassion’ somewhere,” said Riley, who intends to seek damages for wrongful death.

Jeanetta Riley’s ex-husband, Dana Maddox, has already filed a $1 million claim for damages against the city on behalf of their daughter.

Some Sandpoint officers have received crisis intervention training from the local chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Health, but Ziegler and Valenzuela had not.

“I think they could have done things differently,” Riley said.