Utah police shooting called unjustified: Lawsuit alleges victim was shot in the back of her head, "assassination style."

By MICHELLE L. PRICE, Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)

Danielle Willard

— A Utah prosecutor ruled Thursday that the shooting of an unarmed 21-year-old woman by police last November was unjustified.

 

For months, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill has been reviewing the killing of Danielle Willard, which triggered an internal investigation by West Valley City Police that uncovered misconduct by the department's now-disbanded drug squad.

 

District Attorney Sam Gill

Gill said at a news conference Thursday that the use of deadly force by two police detectives was not legally justified. He said he will launch a second investigation to determine if the shooting warrants criminal charges against the officers.

 

West Valley City police are wrapping up their own review into whether the officers violated department policy, which the department would use to determine whether or not the officers can keep their jobs, Deputy Chief Mike Powell said at the news conference.

Willard's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and police officers, calling her death an "execution."

 

The detectives fired six shots at Willard inside her car in the parking lot of an apartment complex during a narcotics stakeout, according to a 40-page report from the district attorney.

It was Detective Shaun Cowley's first shot that struck Willard in the head, killing her. Another shot from Detective Kevin Salmon grazed her chin, according to Gill.

 

Willard was trying to back up and take off, and the officers claimed she was about to run them over.

Gill said the evidence disputes the claim that the detectives' lives were in danger.

Cowley's attorney, Lindsay Jarvis, told KUTV-TV on Thursday that she disagreed with the ruling and said that the county attorney did not take all of the scientific evidence into account.

 

"Mr. Gill has completely done away with any of those findings in his decision today to determine that this is absolutely unjustified," she said.

Brett Rawson, an attorney for the state police union, told the station that he believes the officers rightly felt they were in danger.

"I certainly believe that Shaun Cowley thought that he was going to be hit and either seriously injured or killed by that car," Rawson said. "And I absolutely believe that Kevin Salmon thought that his partner was going down."

 

Jarvis and Rawson didn't immediately return messages from The Associated Press. It wasn't clear if Salmon had a lawyer. No phone listing could be found for either officer.

The investigation into Willard's shooting led local and federal prosecutors to drop more than 100 cases investigated by the West Valley drug squad, citing a lack of credible evidence. The police department found officers had mishandled evidence, kept souvenirs from drug busts and possibly lost drugs and money, among other issues.

 

Willard's family drew a link between the issues uncovered in the internal review and the woman's death in the lawsuit filed back in June.

 

The lawsuit alleges that Willard was shot in the back of her head, "assassination style."

 

The "execution of Danielle Willard was without justification, unrelated to any legitimate law enforcement purpose, and done purposefully and/or in reckless disregard of her safety and well-being," the lawsuit said.

 

In a statement Thursday, Willard's mother said the rest of Willard's family appreciates Gill's ruling, and that the findings "confirm what we have always known."

Cowley and Salmon have been on administrative leave since the shooting. Seven other officers on the narcotics unit were placed on leave in April, shortly after the department released the results of its internal investigation.

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