Police response to Cottonwood Heights protest was appropriate, attorney generalâs office finds
Demonstrators have denounced officersâ actions as violent and unnecessary, while police have accused protesters of being ârioters.â
(Rick Bowmer | AP file photo) Gabe Pecoraro is led away after being taken into custody by Cottonwood Heights police officers during a march Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020, in Cottonwood Heights. The protest was a March for Justice focused largely around Pecoraro s brother Zane James, who was fatally shot by police in Cottonwood Heights in 2018. | Updated: May 12, 2021, 2:39 a.m.
The Utah Attorney Generalâs Office found Tuesday that Cottonwood Heights officers who made multiple arrests â some filmed using physical and chemical force â during a 2020 protest against police violence were âmeasured and appropriateâ in their response.
Family of man shot by police sues Cottonwood Heights, alleging they were brutalized at protest
Traffic concerns were used as a pretext to target protesters, leading to the assault of the brother and father of Zane James, a lawsuit alleges.
(Rick Bowmer | AP) Aaron James is arrested by Cottonwood Heights Police during a march Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020, in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. James was among eight people arrested by Cottonwood Heights Police in August. He is the father of Zane James, a 19-year-old white man who was shot and killed by a Cottonwood Heights Police officer in 2018 as he fled the scene of a robbery. Now, they are suing the city, claiming officers attacked the teen’s father and brother at a peaceful protest over his death last year.