Families of people killed by Utah cops gather for author presentation - ksl.com

SALT LAKE CITY As the full auditorium at the Salt Lake City Library buzzed with friendly chatter, Melissa Kennedy was busy in the corner of the room.

From a large suitcase she pulled stuffed animals, sweaters, jackets and other items that once belonged to her daughter, Danielle Willard. The 21-year-old woman died in West Valley City last November, killed by a gunshot to the head delivered by undercover narcotics officer Shaun Cowley.

Kennedy brought the items to share with the group in Utah that she said has become her extended family and support team in the nearly 10 months since her daughter was killed. The size 0 jeans and small sweaters also show how little her daughter was, hardly a threat to two armed officers, she said.

Before the event began, the families gathered together along 400 South and raised signs decrying police brutality, unjustified shootings and police militarization. They wore red shirts, which they said represented bloodshed and lives lost, with the names of family members on the back.

"All these people are here for a reason," Kennedy said. "They have been brutalized. They have family members that have been killed or put in jail for bogus reasons."

For Danielle Willard's family, now that the shooting has been ruled unjustified, the hope is that the two officers who pulled the trigger that day will face criminal charges and that laws will be changed preventing future officer-involved shootings.

Kennedy spoke on a panel discussion about the state of Utah police, which included accounts by former Davis County sheriff and Utah Senate candidate William "Dub" Lawrence, whose son-in-law was shot by officers; the sister of Matthew David Stewart, who was accused of shooting at officers who raided his Ogden home in January 2012 and later killed himself in his jail cell; and the sister of Corey Kanosh, who was killed in October 2012 in an altercation with a Millard County sheriff's deputy.

Lawrence, who comes from a long line of law enforcement and helped organize Davis County's first SWAT team, became emotional as he told the crowd that Utah law enforcement has lost its way.

"Having gone the full gamut, from the 1970s to today, I'm telling you we're on the wrong track. We need to go back and restore some of what was intended in that doctrine that we hold so sacred as our Constitution," Lawrence said, voicing his support for faithful officers and his disdain for those who waver. "Police officers have found themselves in situations and conducted themselves in such a way that I am ashamed of the profession that I treasured."