ER - Officers' arraignment begins

Police indictments raise basic questions
12/13/2007

There seems to be no historical precedent for the grand jury indictment of former Eureka Police Chief Dave Douglas and Lt. Tony Zanotti in the shooting death of Cheri Lyn Moore in April last year. The two had leadership roles in the several-hour police operation, but neither was actively involved.

This appears to be the first time supervisors in a police operation that led to a death have been held responsible. The two are charged with involuntary manslaughter. The question to be ultimately settled in court by a jury is this: Should supervising officers in a police operation be held legally responsible for its outcome?

While Moore’s death was a tragic event, it was not anticipated by the officers who entered the apartment from which she had been brandishing a flare gun and threatening to burn down the building. When they opened her door, she pointed the flare gun directly at them. They responded as they were trained, by firing their pistols.

The arraignment of the officers will not be completed until February. Then there will be motions and the discovery process. An actual trial is several months away. The outcome of the case will have an effect on police department policies and procedures far beyond the borders of Humboldt County.

Typically, in police departments all over the nation, officers are permitted to use deadly force when someone points a deadly weapon at them. Will that change in the wake of this case? And, if it does, what will the effect be on the morale of the men and women who often face real danger in their jobs? These are the questions that will remain unanswered until this case is concluded.

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