Claim seeks damages from city, BGH over shooting

SANDPOINT — The husband of a Bonner County woman killed by Sandpoint Police is seeking $2 million in damages from the city and Bonner General Health.

Counsel for Shane Bruce Riley filed the tort claim on Jan. 2, according to 1st District Court records.

The claim serves as a notice of intent to sue.

If the city and the hospital refuse the claim for damages, Riley would be permitted to pursue them via court action.

The claim alleges negligence and excessive force in the wrongful death of Jeanetta Riley, who was shot to death outside the hospital on July 8, 2014.

A Bonner County sheriff’s office investigation concluded that Jeanetta Riley, 35, advanced on officers and refused commands to drop the knife she was holding.

“Bring it on!” Jeanetta Riley can be heard saying in video recordings of the deadly encounter.

Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh ruled last November that officers Michael Valenzuela and Skylar Ziegler’s use of lethal force was justified.

Shane Riley, 44, contends the situation could have been de-escalated.

“To put it bluntly, they overreacted,” Riley said last month.

Shane Riley’s attorney, Stephen Ford, said in the claim that his client drove Jeanetta Riley to the hospital after she began demonstrating actions indicative of mental stability.

“He wanted to get help for her and in an effort to prevent injury to his wife, he went to the hospital to get the required help,” Ford said in the claim.

The claim states that Shane Riley went inside the hospital and advised a receptionist that his wife was outside with a knife and threatening to harm anyone who approached. Jeanetta Riley waited outside in the couple’s van.

Bonner General staff called 911, the hospital was placed in lock-down mode and police were on the scene within minutes.

“There was no active threat to anyone when they arrived. The only bystander was Shane Riley, her husband, who was calmly talking with her when the officers arrived. No one else was around,” Ford said in the claim.

Officers converged on Jeanetta Riley with guns drawn in a “threatening manner” and made no effort to de-escalate the situation, the claim said.

“The officers’ actions caused a lethal confrontation that any reasonable person could have avoided and they should have been trained to avoid,” Ford said in the claim.

The claim accuses the officers of excessive force and the city of improperly training them. It further accuses the officers of violating Jeanetta Riley’s civil rights.

 The claim accuses the hospital of negligently passing along vital information to dispatchers, which painted a scenario that was more dire than it actually was. That, in turn, provoked an increased and inappropriate response by police, the claim alleges.

It’s the second claim that’s been filed in connection with the death of Jeanetta Riley. Riley’s former husband Dana Maddox filed a $1 million claim against the city in October on behalf of their daughter.

The city does not comment on tort claims. Bonner General had no immediate comment.

The shooting continues to have a polarizing effect on the community, with some defending the officers’ actions and others criticizing them. The local chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill decried the shooting, while the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force concluded that Jeanetta Riley’s human rights were not violated.