Police crackdown on Cottonwood Heights demonstration criticized as heavy-handed

Aaron James is taken into custody after police and marchers collided in the streets of Cottonwood Heights on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020. The group was marching on 6710 South when police blocked them at Cristobal Street and a confrontation ensued. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

City officials defend response to Sunday afternoon protest

SALT LAKE CITY — The ACLU of Utah, a Black community leader and others are condemning how Cottonwood Heights police handled a Sunday protest that erupted in clashes with demonstrators, saying officers appeared to provoke the group to prove they were in control.

“What started off as an extremely peaceful protest became a military war zone,” according to Darlene McDonald, a member of Salt Lake City’s new Racial Equity in Policing Commission. “Basically, they were armed and waiting for a fight. They literally instigated a fight with the protesters.”

McDonald’s comments in a Facebook Live video recounted what she observed at the Sunday march for police reform, where she had been invited to speak.

Cottonwood Heights police defended their response as necessary and said several officers sustained broken bones, with one choked to the point of unconsciousness.

Cottonwood Heights Mayor Mike Peterson said the city will investigate both the protest and the police response.

“We fully support the First Amendment, but we feel strongly that local laws and ordinances must be adhered to,” Peterson said. “The situation at Mill Hollow is regrettable. We never want to see things escalate as the one did Sunday evening.”

Fights broke out after authorities told demonstrators to move to the sidewalks and used patrol cars to block the street. Officers used pepper spray, stun guns and batons, detaining several demonstrators and arresting a total of eight in an upscale neighborhood tucked in the foothills southeast of Salt Lake City.

The violence erupted down the street from where the 19-year-old Zane James was shot and killed by Cottonwood Heights police in 2018 after allegedly robbing two stores. The protest followed a Saturday memorial on what would have been James’ 22nd birthday.

James’ father, Aaron James, 50, was among those arrested Sunday and jailed for investigation of assaulting an officer. He and his family were expected Monday to speak at a news conference in Cottonwood Heights about their experience Sunday.

The left-leaning Alliance for a Better Utah called for an outside investigation into police conduct, which the group’s executive director Chase Thomas called a “gross overreaction.”

Rather than de-escalate or try to find solutions, police appeared to have “needlessly provoked a small, peaceful gathering to prove the point that the police were in control,” John Mejia, the group’s legal director, said in a statement. He said the footage alarmed and dismayed his organization and indicated the officers’ response was “the exact opposite of what we expect from police.”

“We condemn the violence against community members exercising their First Amendment rights,” Mejia said. He noted one officer is heard saying, “We aren’t Salt Lake City” and declining to escort some who attended.

Mejia said Cottonwood Heights has an ordinance that in fact allows marching on the street. Cottonwood Heights Lt. Dan Bartlett countered that the rule does not permit people to block traffic like the group did Sunday.

Bartlett said six of his officers responded after neighbors called with concerns about demonstrators yelling at them and about two protesters who had guns.

The officers told demonstrators they would face arrest if they didn’t move out of the street.

“They didn’t want to move, so the first one that we went to take into custody, that’s when it broke out. It just turned into a melee on the street,” Bartlett said. “When it turned into a brawl, basically, and my officers were getting jumped, we called for assistance from everybody,” Bartlett said. At least five other agencies responded.

About a dozen protesters were “looking for a confrontation, because it was easy to go to the sidewalk,” Bartlett said. He said the group did not obtain a permit to block roads and his agency didn’t have the resources to cordon off streets to protect them on a Sunday.

Bartlett told the Deseret News the police followed the city’s de-escalation protocol.

“The video’s pretty clear,” he added. “You see my officers get punched and kicked and choked, stuff like that ... how are we supposed to de-escalate that?”

Although there did not appear to be any violent outbursts before police arrived, Bartlett said the ordeal was not peaceful for homeowners who felt threatened by the group.

Bartlett said he worked with an organizers to try to get everyone to calm down. Some, however, sprayed a mixture toward officers that seemed to be urine and cayenne pepper, he said.

“Using force, it never looks good. It’s never pretty, it never looks good. It’s disturbing, and I understand that. At the same time, we need to make sure the laws are followed, and that’s what we were doing,” he said.

A video recorded by Cottonwood Heights Councilwoman Tali Bruce captured long-simmering tension with police Chief Robby Russo in a terse exchange between the two. Bruce later said she was struck in the neck and shoved and sought treatment at a hospital.

Bartlett disputed the account.

“If anything, he barely put a hand on her to push her back,” he said.

This story will be updated.

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