Help us plan a February event
Thanks everyone for attending the rally yesterday. We were able to draw some attention to Danielle’s case a second time. We’re hoping to do monthly demonstrations to keep Danielle’s case alive in the public’s mind. We’re considering perhaps, having a forum or discussion (INDOORS!) regarding police violence for February.
Do you have ideas for an event that would draw attention to Danielle’s case for people from the community as well as the news? Can you help us organize it? Leave a comment here with an email address where we can can contact you or reach us on Facebook and let us know.
Here are the news stories from yesterday. Thanks to all the reporters who came out:
Family of woman killed by West Valley police demand answers
Protesters demand answers in police shooting
Family Grows Impatient After Shooting
Group rallies for answers from police on victim’s 22nd birthday
Officer-involved shooting draws protest
Tell Sim Gill: CHARGE THE COPS WHO DID THIS
December 16 rally for Danielle Willard, West Valley City. photo by Brian Palmer
At today’s action in West Valley City, we’ll be asking attendees to call the Salt Lake District Attorney’s office and demand that the police officer(s) who killed Danielle Willard be charged with crimes.
Danielle would turn 22 this week but for the fatal shooting by West Valley Police Nov. 2.
The call-ins can begin any time. Here’s how to help.
1. Call 801-363-7900 and ask for District Attorney Sim Gill.
2. Tell him, or leave a message, that police don’t have special rights to shoot and kill unarmed people. Tell him that anything close to Justice for Danielle includes the officers being put on trial. Tell him what you think of West Valley Police or police in your own community, and tell him that you expect him to play a role in making us safer. Tell him what is in your heart.
You can also email comments to: districtattorney@slco.org
The point of this action is to give the DA’s office a small preview of the uproar they would have to deal with if they fail to charge the officers who killed Danielle. It’s important they hear our voices and realize that the people’s mood has shifted and we’re not going to allow police to shoot and kill innocent people. It may be inconvenient for them for the office to take our calls, but we can’t wait for the office to make a decision before we say how we really feel and that announcement might be made the same day they release their own report. By then it might be too late and they’re not likely to change their minds if they’ve made the wrong decision. So we can’t wait. We must act now.
Call DA Sim Gill today and help seek Justice for Danielle!
And if you have any information about Danielle’s death, call 1-855-9-JUSTICE.
Honor Danielle’s Birthday–DEMAND JUSTICE!
Please join us:
Tuesday, January 22 at
3:00 pm
West Valley City Hall/Police Department,
3575 S. Market Street, West Valley
We are gathering together in honor of Danielle Willard and celebrate her birthday. She would have been 22. West Valley Police shot and killed Danielle on Nov 2 while she sat in her car unarmed and still have refused to give any sort of explanation as to why.
In Michigan, we just read about a police killing case that took 6 months for investigators to conclude their case. Despite that the homeless man was mentally challenged, investigators cleared the police of any wrongdoing. Many observers have raised serious questions about the video of the man’s death, however. The cops got away with murder.
This is the context we find ourselves in. Police are never held accountable properly. Have you seen Quentin Tarantino’s Ingloriuos Bastards? Near the end, the Brad Pitt character, a military special-ops officer, commits a shocking and savage act of violence against another person. The victim screams, “You’ll be hanged for this!” Pitt’s character replies, “Nah, more like chewed out. I’ve been chewed out before.” We’re lucky here in Utah if the cops even gets chewed out! Most cops are cleared of ALL wrongdoing!
This lack of accountability allows the police to commit crime with impunity. At worst, police will be chewed out for killing someone. In the past, there has been only a slight risk of a cop losing their jobs for killing someone. And in Utah especially, but everywhere really, there’s almost no chance that the cops will actually face criminal charges and possibly be held accountable for their crime. BUT THAT WAS THEN.
Help us make a new now: Join us as we change the way police killers are treated. Join us to demand a new future of accountability. Join us to demand peace from police who terrorize our streets. We must gather together to demonstrate our anger and our love for Danielle, but most of all–our power as people who aren’t going to take it anymore!
West Valley Police will hear our voices! Salt Lake District Attorney Sim Gill must hear our voices!
Join us to demand Justice for Danielle–and all the victims of police violence. This has to start now.
Protest and vigil Saturday in GRESHAM
Danielle Willard’s death by police was protested and the 21-year-old woman remembered in West Valley City this month. Another event to protest police violence and remember Danielle Willard will be held in Gresham, Oregon, tomorrow, December 29.
- Photo by Sarah Boynton
To remember and fight for justice for our beloved DD (Danielle Misha Willard)
please join us in protest this Saturday!
Gather on POWELL AND ROBERTS, in Gresham, Oregon
BY THE SKATE PARK 3:30 PM
Protest rallies have the power to circle important allies and communicate a message to a wider audience. The event in West Valley certainly did both.
First, survivors of other police shootings came to support Danielle’s friends and family. Family members of Wade Pennington attended the event. Wade Pennington, 41, was killed suspiciously by West Jordan, Utah, police officers in 2009. Family members of Matthew David Stewart also attended the rally. Matthew Stewart was nearly killed in a home-invasion style raid conducted on his home in Ogden, Utah, in January and has been imprisoned ever since. Family members of Corey Kanosh could not attend the event but sent warm wishes. Corey Kanosh was killed by Millard County Sheriff’s Deputy Dale Josse October 15, 2012, in the foothills just southeast of the Kanosh Band Reservation Community in Kanosh, Utah. Others brought different but similar stories of being victimized by police misconduct or error. Many of these families had not previously met, so important connections were forged.
Photo by Brian Palmer
They all came to the rally and joined in solidarity with the Willards’ demands for justice, justice for Danielle–but also justice for their loved ones and all victims of police violence.
Second, our message was heard loudly and clearly by the news media. From ABC4:
“I would like to see the police officer who shot Danielle be put on trial and be stripped of his job,” said [Summer] Smith. “He should be put on trial for murder.” [continue reading or watch video here]
Also read:
Salt City Sinner: West Valley Police Shoot and Kill an Unarmed Woman in November… Still Not Talking.
Salt Lake Tribune: Memorial doubles as protest of West Valley Shooting
Fox13 (video): Vigil held in fatal WVC officer-involved shooting
KSL (video): Support group to hold protest about Willard homicide investigation
Salt Lake Tribune: Memorial planned for woman shot by West Valley City Police
Event: Protest Police Violence, Remember Danielle, Demand Justice
Please join us on 12/16 at 3:30 pm as we gather together in honor of Danielle Willard. West Valley Police shot and killed Danielle on Nov 2nd while she sat in her car unarmed and still have refused to give any sort of explanation as to why. Her family deserves answers and prays justice will be served. We need your help!
We will begin lighting candles in her memory around 4:30 and at 5 pm, Danielle’s loved ones will share their thoughts with the community. Anyone and everyone is encouraged to come and participate.
We need all the supporters we can get as we are still unable to have any kind of cooperation from the West Valley Police Department. It is important to her family to get back any and all of personal belongings, Melissa has had no luck so far in her efforts to get any of Danielle’s things back from them nor has she had any luck getting any info on why her daughter was shot and killed by West Valley Police. We are so very grateful to everyone who will come and be a part of this rally for Dee and hopefully together we can put a stop to these shootings in West Valley City–and all across the country–to protect innocent people.
We’ll meet at 2700 West (Constitution Boulevard) and 3590 South (Lehman Avenue) in front of West Valley City Hall. Bring signs!
About
Danielle “Dee Dee” Willard, 21, was shot and killed by West Valley City Police (Utah) November 2, 2012. Danielle had a 19-year-old sister and a 14-year-old brother and many friends.
Police have not been forthcoming with details about the shooting as formal reports have yet to be completed and police have not been open with Danielle’s family and loved ones. Suspicions of police misconduct immediately arose when police failed to make any allegations against Danielle or explanations for why she was killed. There is still very little known about her death.
Please join our effort to demand Justice for Danielle.
