COEUR d’ALENE — The officer-involved shooting that claimed the life of Jeanetta Riley could have been avoided, a law enforcement consultant told jurors in U.S. District Court on Wednesday.

“Getting into the position was entirely preventable,” Joseph John Callanan Jr. said on the third day of a civil suit which alleges that Sandpoint Police violated Riley’s constitutional rights and used excessive force during the deadly confrontation outside Bonner General Health in July 2014.

Callanan, a retired Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department deputy and supervisor with more than 20 years of law enforcement experience and training, argued that officers were in a reactive and confrontational mode when they contacted Riley outside the emergency department.

Video of the encounter shows officers initially ordering Riley to come to them, but those orders quickly toggled to shouts of “show me your hands” and then “drop the knife.” Riley responded by yelling “no” and “bring it on.”

Riley was shot when she stepped off a curb and toward the trio of officers — Michael Valenzuela, Skylar Ziegler and Garrett Johnson — while holding a fillet knife.

Officers were summoned to the hospital after Riley’s husband, Shane, reported that his wife was outside with a knife saying she wanted to kill people.

Callanan said Shane Riley could have been used as a “tactical asset” to help officers better determine the threat Jeanetta Riley posed and her mental health status.

“It’s almost negligent not to fish in that pond for a bit,” Callanan told the jury.

Shane Riley testified on Tuesday that his wife was only a harm to herself despite her remarks about wanting to stab someone.

Callanan also questioned the radio silence the officers employed while responding to the call in their respective patrol vehicles. Officers could have used the drive time to discuss a plan to address the situation.

“The lack of communications is unfortunate,” said Callanan, who added that a less aggressive approach to Jeanetta Riley could have calmed the situation.

The officers testified on Tuesday that kept the radio chatter to a minimum so they could receive vital situation updates from Bonner Dispatch.

“It’s really a key link to pretty much everything we do,” Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon testified, referring to Bonner Dispatch.

Jurors learned that the officers involved were certified through the Idaho Peace Officers Standards & Training programs and were put through a four-phase field-training regimen. They also receive continuing education.

Although two of the officers did not have crisis intervention training at the time of the shooting, Coon told the jury that officers routinely respond to calls involving emotionally disturbed subjects. Coon said the U.S. Department of Justice estimates that one in 10 calls for service involve someone with a mental illness, but he believes the rate is a bit higher in Sandpoint.

“We take pride in working with people that are in crisis,” Coon told jurors.

Coon said officers’ number one priority is public safety and they had a duty to address an armed threat.

The trial resumes today.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.