The family of Zane James alleges the Cottonwood Heights police and city leaders shut down their demonstration and used excessive force in retaliation for their yearslong criticism of the police department.
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah (AP) The family of a teenager shot to death in 2018 by Cottonwood Heights police has filed a federal lawsuit against the city, its police department, and some officers after violent clashes occurred at a protest in August.
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS Zane James family felt almost entirely alone after his death in 2018.
Few others had the same experience of losing a child to a police shooting, and their push for reform in their own city, Cottonwood Heights, seemed to be going nowhere, his mother Tiffany James recalled.
That shifted last year after the murder of George Floyd spurred national outcry and widespread demonstrations. With new momentum, the James family organized a march calling for justice and honoring their son s life over the weekend of what would have been his 22nd birthday.
The group of about 100 set out walking and dancing in their neighborhood on Aug. 2, but didn t get far. Patrol cars arrived and blocked the street in a scene that rapidly turned violent, with officers using batons, Tasers and chokeholds on Zane James father, Aaron James, and brother Gabriel Pecoraro.
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.
Family of slain teen sues Cottonwood Heights over injuries from protest
Rick Bowmer/AP
Protesters are tackled by Cottonwood Heights police officers during a march Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020, in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. The protest was a March for Justice focused largely around Zane James, who was fatally shot by police in Cottonwood Heights in 2018. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
and last updated 2021-05-07 13:06:13-04
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah â The parents of a 19-year-old shot by a Cottonwood Heights police officer in 2018 are now suing the city, saying they were unjustly attacked by officers during a protest over his death last year.
Cottonwood Heights police officers fatally shot Zane James after he allegedly robbing two grocery stores.