On April 14, 2006, 49-year-old Cheri Lyn Moore of Eureka, California, was shot and killed by police officers after a standoff at her apartment. The incident began when Moore, described as being in a mental health crisis, called the county mental health department saying she was despondent and needed medication. She then threatened to burn down the building and began throwing items from her window, prompting a police response that culminated in a two-hour standoff and Moore being shot multiple times.

A coroner’s inquest in September 2006 found she died from multiple gunshot wounds and recommended more training for officers in mental health crisis response and the presence of mental health professionals during such incidents. Moore’s son filed a federal wrongful death suit in May 2007 alleging constitutional violations and negligence; parts of that suit survived a motion to dismiss in October 2007. A grand jury later indicted former Police Chief David Douglas and Lieutenant Tony Zanotti on involuntary manslaughter charges, but a judge dismissed those charges in August 2008 for insufficient evidence.