Two Utah detectives who shot and killed an unarmed woman last November claim they murdered her in self-defense, but new evidence shows that they had no reason to feel threatened and did not have to shoot her.
Undercover drug detectives Shawn Coley and Kevin Salmon allegedly witnessed Danielle Hillard, 21, buy drugs from a well-known drug dealer in a parking lot in West Valley City, Utah.
They said that as they approached her car, she stepped on the gas in reverse and hit Cowley, causing both officers to shoot at her. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, she died instantly after being shot in the head by one of six shots they fired.
Salt Lake City District Attorney Sim Gill found that the evidence did not match the officer’s stories, and that she did not hit Cowley with her car or give them any reason to shoot.
“It is our position based on the forensic evidence he was not behind the vehicle,” Gill said, Huffington Post reports. “The angle of the shots fired by detective Cowley place him on the side of the vehicle driven by Ms. Willard."
Salmon also admitted that he never actually saw the vehicle hit Cowley, whereas earlier in the year he claimed he directly witnessed it.
Salmon and Cowley have not yet been charged, but the DA’s office is now pursuing a criminal investigation against them. Willard’s family is also suing the city for wrongful death.