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West Valley City's police review board in August found Detective Kevin Salmon used excessive force when he fired a gun at Danielle Willard, but included a caveat in its ruling.

Four members of the West Valley City Police Standards and Review Board said it disagreed with Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill's finding that the Willard shooting was unjustified. Two other board members said they needed more information to determine whether they would sustain Gill's decision.

Despite a majority disagreeing with Gill, the review board on Aug. 14 voted 5-1 to sustain an allegation that Salmon used force in excess of West Valley City policies.

West Valley City released the one-page review board findings — which includes handwritten remarks — last week after The Tribune filed a records request.

On Nov. 2, 2012, Shaun Cowley and Salmon, both detectives in West Valley City's neighborhood narcotics unit, observed what they thought was a drug deal involving Willard.

The 21-year-old woman entered a Subaru and backed out of a parking spot as the detectives approached.

Cowley claimed he was in the car's path and believed his life was in danger when he fired one shot striking Willard in the head and killing her. Salmon fired four times after Cowley did, with one shot grazing the woman's chin, according to Gill's use-of-force report.

Gill has said the evidence showed Cowley was to the side of the car when he fired the shot that killed Willard. He found Salmon and Cowley were not justified in shooting under Utah law. However, Gill filed criminal charges against Cowley alone, charging him with second-degree felony manslaughter.

On Oct. 9, following a preliminary hearing, 3rd District Judge L.A. Dever dismissed the charge against Cowley, saying there was reason to believe Cowley was in fear for his life and that there was insufficient evidence that a crime was committed.

West Valley City had earlier fired Cowley, but not for the shooting. Drugs and related evidence were found in Cowley's trunk that should have been booked into evidence. Cowley is appealing his termination.

Salmon remained on paid leave from the time of the shooting until his resignation, effective Oct. 15. That was a day before West Valley City was expected to make a determination about whether Salmon would be allowed to return to work or face discipline or termination. Salmon's attorney, Bret Rawson, said in an email that it is clear the review board only made the adverse ruling against Salmon because of Gill's findings.

"The Review Board did not have the benefit of Judge Dever's ruling at that time — a ruling which effectively overturns the 'unjustified' finding. To be sure, both officers were justified in their actions on November 2, 2012, and the Court agreed.

"Had Det. Salmon stayed with West Valley City, he would have challenged the finding on that basis," Rawson's email continued. "However, now that he is working in another agency, the matter is closed."

It was not clear Tuesday where Salmon is working.

The West Valley City Police Standards and Review Board is one of the things in the city that has changed since the Willard shooting.

While other citizen police review boards across the country operate as independent police monitors, West Valley City's review board for decades had a symbiotic relationship where the police chief had a role in appointing members, the police department was able to determine what the board reviewed and there were no public reports describing board decisions.

Last year, West Valley City made multiple changes, including posting review board agendas and minutes and specifying that no city employees — including police officers — could serve as voting members. Earlier this year, Dean Trump, who served on the review board for about 20 years, left the board.

Abigail Dizon-Maughan, the review board's chairperson said on Tuesday that West Valley City ordinances still require the board to make decisions based on the information the police department provides them, and based on that, five board members voted that Salmon used excessive force.

But four board members felt that while policy was violated, they disagreed with Gill's decision that the shooting was not justified.

"If we were given more evidence and more information and maybe allowed to review [the shooting] without violating existing [city] statutes, maybe the determination would have been different," Dizon-Maughan said.

She said she was one of the five who voted that Salmon used excessive force and one of the two who said she needed more information to determine whether Gill made the correct ruling.

Another board member, Joan Burrell, said she was the one who voted Salmon did not violate the city's use-of-force policy. Burrell said she disagreed with Gill's determination that the shooting was unjustified and disagreed with the manslaughter charge being filed against Cowley.

"I felt that [Salmon] felt his life was threatened and he was within policy of trying to do his job and keep himself alive," Burrell said. "They have to make split-second decisions. They're humans and they're not always right. But I felt in this case, Salmon and Cowley were right."

Twitter: @natecarlisle