West Valley City Police Detective Shaun Cowley fatally shot Danielle Willard during an undercover drug operation in 2012. Prosecutors charged Cowley with manslaughter, but the case was dismissed after expert testimony that Cowley feared for his life. Willard’s family received a $1.4 million wrongful-death settlement in 2015, and Cowley later settled his own lawsuit against the city for over $100,000.
Author
Posts
Viewing 1 post (of 1 total)
Welcome to Police Accountability Database
Our Mission
We're building a comprehensive database of police interactions to promote accountability and transparency in law enforcement.
How You Can Participate
View the Blog: Read about documented police interactions
Share Your Experience: Submit your own police interaction story
Browse the Forums: Check if your local law enforcement has been documented
Important Community Guidelines
It is strictly against our rules to:
Make threats of any kind
Share private information such as personal emails, home addresses, or phone numbers
Violation of these rules will result in immediate content removal and possible account suspension.
Why This Matters
By organizing this data, we can potentially demonstrate when officers were previously aware of laws they later claim ignorance of, challenging qualified immunity defenses and promoting accountability.
.
