Mourners press for change after deadly shooting

SANDPOINT — A gathering is being held to remember the life of Jeanetta Riley and call for better handling of people in the throes of a mental breakdown.

The event is set for 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, at Farmin Park. Event organizers hope to line up mental health professions to speak at the event.

Riley, 35, was shot to death by Sandpoint Police after reportedly advancing on officers while holding a knife and ignoring their commands on the night of July 8. She was reportedly driven to Bonner General Health by her husband to obtain treatment.

Police were summoned to the hospital after dispatchers received a report that Riley was in a van with a knife and threatening to kill people, according to Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh. Officers were also advised that a panic alarm at the emergency department had been activated.

Riley exited the van, refused officers’ commands to drop the knife and walked toward two officers, both of whom opened fire.

Sandpoint businessman Dan Mimmack organized the event in part to remember the life of Riley, but also to press for change to avoid a similar tragedy from unfolding in the future.

“What we’re saying from a mental health point of view is, ‘Can we do this differently next time?’ Mostly why we’re gathering is to prevent this from happening again to the next person that has a breakdown in public,” Mimmack said.

McHugh, who reviewed the Bonner County sheriff’s investigation into the shooting, concluded last month that officers Skylar Ziegler and Michael Valenzuela’s use of lethal force was justified under the circumstances they faced.

The shooting continues to divide the community, with some contending the officers’ use of force was unjustified. Riley’s former husband, Dana Maddox, has filed a $1 million claim for damages on behalf of their daughter.

The Panhandle chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness instructs law enforcement officers on crisis intervention, but it’s unclear if Ziegler or Valenzuela are graduates of the program.

Riley was born in Seattle to Lela Hildwein and John Belmont. She attended schools there before moving to Oregon to work as a veterinarian assistant. She recently attended a massage therapy school in Spokane, Wash., and also worked as a traffic flagger.

She married Shane Riley in Hope in 2012 and three children, according to an obituary.