Police Department

Office of the Chief

_____________________________________________________________________________

West Valley City, Utah

CONTACT: Sgt. Jason Hauer - Public Information Officer 3600 South Constitution Blvd West Valley City, Utah 84119 Desk: (801) 965-5879 / Cell: (801) 509-1375 / Fax: (801) 963-3333 Email: pdpio@wvc-ut.gov

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: March 27, 2013 Time: 12:10 _____________________________________________________________________
WEST VALLEY CITY POLICE CLARIFY MISINFORMATION The death of a child is something that no parent should have to endure and we extend our most sincere condolences to the parents of Danielle Willard as they understandably look for answers in the recent death of the daughter. Our hearts are sympathetic to their grief and to their loss. The West Valley City Police Department will continue, as it has since the inception of this case, to utilize whatever resources are necessary to provide the truth and facts of this case to the District Attorneys Office and ultimately to Danielle Willards family.

The West Valley City Police Department is aware of several uninformed and inflammatory comments that have been made recently regarding its handling of this case. This release serves as clarification directed toward those comments. This police departments sole interest in this case is to get to the truth of what took place on November 2, 2012. The amount of investigative time and attention this case has been given is evidence of that fact, and by the end of this week, the department will have presented this case in its entirety to the District Attorney.

It has been said that the West Valley City Police Department has not cooperated with the District Attorney during the investigation. The West Valley City Police Department has an agreement with the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office to participate in a Critical Incident Protocol Investigation anytime the use of deadly force is involved. This means that the District Attorneys own investigators partner with detectives from our agency in all aspects of the investigation. This case has been no different. Investigators from the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office have been involved in every aspect of this case, including conducting interviews with witnesses, the involved officers, and the collection and review of all items of evidence. District Attorney Investigators have had access to all of the information collected in this case.

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Police Department

Office of the Chief

_____________________________________________________________________________

West Valley City, Utah

CONTACT: Sgt. Jason Hauer - Public Information Officer 3600 South Constitution Blvd West Valley City, Utah 84119 Desk: (801) 965-5879 / Cell: (801) 509-1375 / Fax: (801) 963-3333 Email: pdpio@wvc-ut.gov

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: March 27, 2013 Time: 12:10 _____________________________________________________________________
There have been further implications that an alleged fire has destroyed evidence in this case and that there is a department wide cover-up with respect to this investigation. We emphatically deny any implication that the West Valley City Police Department is in any way involved in such a cover-up. The department further declares that all items determined to be evidence in this case are secure and will only be released at the direction of the District Attorneys Office at the appropriate time as per the legal rules of evidence. We once again express our sympathy to the Willard family, and our appreciation to the citizens of this community for their continued support. ###

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