Family files suit over shooting

SANDPOINT — The family of a Bonner County woman who was killed in an officer-involved shooting outside Bonner General Health is seeking damages in U.S. District Court for wrongful death, excessive use of force and other claims.

The suit filed on behalf of Jeanetta Riley names the city of Sandpoint, its police department and two officers who were involved in the shooting as defendants. Riley's husband at the time of shooting, Shane Riley, is named as a defendant because he cannot be compelled to be a plaintiff in the matter.

The suit was filed in Idaho's federal court on Friday, according to U.S. District Court records.

Riley, 35, was shot to death by officers Michael Valenzuela and Skylar Ziegler outside the hospital on July 8, 2014.

Shane Riley drove his wife to BGH amid a mental health crisis in which Jeanetta Riley made threats to herself and others, particularly those who tried to intervene.

Jeanetta Riley was allegedly armed with a knife and refused commands to unhand it when she was confronted outside the hospital, which went into lock-down mode when Shane Riley attempted to present his suicidal wife for treatment.

The lawsuit, which was brought by two parents who fathered children with Jeanetta Riley, contrasts the different actions by three officers who responded to the call.

Ziegler, the first to respond, exited his patrol vehicle armed with a Taser and a pistol. Valenzuela was armed with an assault rifle, while Officer Garrett Johnson with a handgun and Taser.

A minute later, Jeanetta Riley was dead. The suit contends she was pregnant at the time of the shooting.

The suit filed by Dana Maddox, Raymond Foster and their minor children alleges that Johnson approached Jeanetta Riley via the sidewalk and reported that her hands were at her side. One hand held a knife, the blade of which was pointed behind her.

Video footage released by the city shows Jeanetta Riley refusing repeated commands to drop the knife.

Johnson, the suit said, told investigators he did not feel threatened by Jeanetta Riley.

She heard the commands of Ziegler and Valenzuela and pivoted toward where they were standing.

The suit alleges that Ziegler stated that she dropped the knife when the laser sight of the non-lethal Taser was pointed at her chest.

“The interviewer asked Ziegler to change his statement to say that Jeanetta still had the knife. Ziegler complied. Ziegler also stated at one point during questioning that Jeanetta had also dropped her hands prior to dropping the knife,” April Linscott, the Hayden attorney representing Jeanetta Riley's surviving family members, said in the suit.

When Jeanetta Riley pivoted toward the street in response to the commands of Valenzuela and Ziegler, she was brought down by three rounds from Valenzuela's rifle and two from Ziegler's pistol in less than a second.

“The officers needlessly escalated the situation without taking any of Jeanetta's mental health issues into consideration,” the suit said.

Johnson told sheriff's investigators he kicked the knife toward the center of the street. Johnson told investigators that the knife was at a location that suggested it was tossed rather than simply dropped before it was kicked out of play, according to the suit.

A mortally wounded Jeanetta Riley was handcuffed in the street until emergency responders asked police to remove the restraints so she could be treated, the suit said.

Claims in the suit include excessive force, violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, wrongful death and negligence.