The department has cleared its officers “of any criminal wrongdoing,” claiming that they followed all proper procedures when they chose to use an AR-15 assault rifle on the mentally ill, pregnant woman who was holding a knife outside of the hospital.
The dashboard and body camera footage has now been released in the fatal shooting of Jeanetta Riley. Riley, 35, was shot and killed by Sandpoint, Idaho police after they were called to a hospital where she had been treated for mental health problems.
The department has cleared its officers “of any criminal wrongdoing,” claiming that they followed all proper procedures when they chose to use an AR-15 assault rifle on the mentally ill, pregnant woman who was holding a knife outside of the hospital.
The officers could have used less-than-lethal weapons, like a taser, but instead they chose not only a firearm, but an AR-15 when they approached her outside of Bonner General Hospital.
The police can be heard on the video telling Riley to show her hands.
Riley, obviously mentally distressed, replied: “f*** you” and “bring it on!”
After shots ran out, the officer ran to Riley but instead of applying first aid, he cuffed her.
The policeman is then heard running to Ms Riley, lying injured in the road.
Bonner County prosecutor Barry McHugh said: “Officers were faced with a quickly evolving set of circumstances that left them convinced the Ms Riley had the intent to use the knife to do them great bodily harm and had the ability to do so.”
Ms Riley’s ex-husband, Dana Maddox, is suing the city for $1 million, as the officers ended his wife’s life as well as her pregnancy with Maddox’s daughter.
The autopsy report reveals that Riley was shot in the chest and hit in the liver as well as her shoulder, back and heart. The Magic Valley Times News explains that “Five shots were fired during the confrontation, three of which came from Valenzuela’s AR-15 rifle and two of which came from Ziegler’s .40-caliber Glock pistol.”
The suit alleges that “One or more of the above-named police officers shot and killed Ms Riley, thereby inflicting excessive and unnecessary force upon a mentally disturbed patient who was armed only with a knife.”
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