Inquest to be held in Moore standoff

Hearing likely to occur in July, coroner says

EUREKA -- Coroner Frank Jager said Thursday there will be an inquest into the police shooting of Cheri Moore at the request of District Attorney Paul Gallegos, a rarely used process that will essentially air evidence surrounding the events of April 14.

Moore, 48, was killed after police stormed her apartment after a two-hour-plus standoff during which she brandished a flare gun and threw various objects out of her second story, downtown apartment.

The inquest will involve a randomly selected jury that would hear evidence in the case just like a court hearing. Witnesses will be asked under oath to testify about their knowledge of the death.

The jury will determine the cause -- accidental, natural or by another's hands -- and may render an opinion on whether the shooting was justified. Any decision would not be binding in a civil or criminal court.

Jager said he expects the proceedings to take place sometime in July and last about a week. He will oversee the process and a hearing officer will ask the questions. There is no prosecution or defense, as there would be in a trial.

The process dates back to a time when a jury decided the cause of death on a regular basis, a role now reserved for the coroner, Jager said.

The last local inquest took place in 2000 after a Eureka police officer shot and killed an armed man in a parking lot. The jury found the shooting was justified. During that inquest, details were made public that had previously been withheld.

Jager said he had been contemplating an inquest since the shooting and that it was unfortunate that this is occurring during a district attorney's race.

”This is not political, this is just to try and find out what happened,” Jager said.