This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Danielle Willard was killed, some say murdered, by West Valley City Police Department detectives Shaun Cowley and Kevin Salmon. WVCPD said they would investigate the killing. That was nine months ago. The officers are still on paid leave. There is no apparent progress on the part of the WVCPD.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, a Democrat, has concluded that the shooting of Danielle Willard was not justified, and he is still investigating to see if charges should be brought against Cowley and Salmon.
Chad Bennion, chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party, has charged that Gill hates cops because he is investigating the killing. To support his position, Bennion implies that Gill can't successfully investigate because he is from India. Implications that Gill is not "white and delightsome" cannot be ignored.
The racism and ignorance exhibited by Bennion and the Republican Party is the status quo in Utah politics. Circle the wagons, protect Republicans and fellow church members. We've seen this with John Swallow, Mark Shurtleff, the WVCPD, the Ogden Police Department and the Matthew Stewart marijuana raid, Lisa Steed and numerous other political coverups.
Let District Attorney Sim Gill do his job!
Barbara Bisping
Taylorsville