MIDVALE, Utah — The day after a man suffered serious wounds in an officer-involved shooting in Midvale that began when a wanted suspect opened fire on police, Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder announced in a press conference the victim of that shooting was an innocent bystander.

“It was subsequently learned through Salt Lake City’s investigation that the individual impacted by our gun fire was uninvolved,” Winder said.

Police initially stated that one suspect had been shot and a second suspect was apprehended after the officer-involved shooting in Midvale Friday night, which Winder stated began when a suspect under surveillance in connection with a stolen car fired on an officer. The incident occurred in the area of 150 West 7200 South.

Saturday afternoon, Winder stated they learned the person who was hit by gunfire was not involved in the incident that sparked the shooting.

Winder stated the innocent man was shot twice, once in the arm and once in the leg, after being mistaken for the wanted suspect by an officer with the Unified Police Department. The suspect and innocent victim look similar, which according to the Sheriff’s Office is why the officer mistook him for the suspect.

The victim is reported to be in serious condition but improving. The 25-year-old man’s name has not been released.

Unified PD stated in a press release: ” UPD expresses their deepest sympathies to the family of the injured individual. We have stayed in direct contact with them and understand that his condition is improving.”

The Unified Police Department officer involved in the shooting is Officer Cory Tsouras. Tsouras is a 3-year veteran of the department and is currently assigned to the Midvale precinct.

The man who fired on police has been identified as Jeremy Bowden, and he was apprehended a short time after the shooting.

Things began when Bowden was spotted leaving the Mouse Pad, an Internet cafe at 38 West 7200 South. He then fled to the area of the Rocket Express Car Wash.

Another UPD officer had pulled into the parking lot to head the fleeing suspect off, and, according to the press release from UPD, Bowden: “immediately fired multiple rounds at the UPD officer while he was still in his vehicle. Rounds impacted the UPD vehicle through the driver’s headrest, windshield, laptop and side windows.”

The officer was also struck in the chest, “hitting the bulletproof vest, which stopped the round and saved his life.”

As this was happening, the victim tried to run into the car wash but was not able to get inside the building. The officer who had just been shot then mistook the victim for the suspect and fired at him, hitting him twice.

“I was just in my apartment, I have some friends staying with me right now, and I heard gun shots, my first thought is it was fireworks, but then I just figured there is no way,” said Melissa McCaslin.

McCaslin was one of the first neighbors to rush to the scene.

“We saw them pull someone out on a stretcher, clearly they weren’t deceased but it was clear that they were injured,” McCaslin said.

The press release states UPD officers immediately rendered, “live-saving medical aid to this individual, applying a tourniquet to his leg.”

Bowden jumped over a fence and fled northbound to an apartment complex, and police set up a containment with help from multiple agencies. After the man fled through a neighborhood, jumping over fences and passing through yards, officers located the man at the Brighton Place Apartments.

The press release states, “Bowden aggressively fought officers, but was eventually taken into custody.” Winder stated during the press conference Bowden was Tasered during the arrest.

The investigation into the shooting has been turned over to the Salt Lake City Police Department, as it is state law that any officer-involved shooting be investigated by an independent agency. The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office is also involved in the investigation.

Bowden was booked on charges that include attempted aggravated murder as a first-degree felony and obstruction of justice. Booking records also indicate numerous warrants on various charges relating to drugs, stolen property and unlawful possession or transfer of a firearm.

SALT LAKE CITY — A man whose dog was shot by police last year is being hindered by Utah state law from seeking legal recourse.

Sean Kendall’s dog, a two-year-old Weimaraner named Geist, was shot and killed by Salt Lake City Police Officer Brett Olsen on June 18. Olsen was reportedly looking for a missing boy when he trespassed onto Kendall’s property, alarming his dog. When the dog responded to the intruder, rather than backing away, Officer Olsen fatally shot him.

Kendall intends to file a lawsuit against Salt Lake City and Olsen for killing his unarmed pet, but faces a serious hurdle in the form of a Utah state law that requires him to first post a bond to cover attorney fees and court costs for the officer he intends to sue.

Utah state law 78B-3-104 reads:

(1) A person may not file an action against a law enforcement officer acting within the scope of the officer’s official duties unless the person has posted a bond in an amount determined by the court.
(2) The bond shall cover all estimated costs and attorney fees the officer may be expected to incur in defending the action, in the event the officer prevails.
(3) The prevailing party shall recover from the losing party all costs and attorney fees allowed by the court.
(4) In the event the plaintiff prevails, the official bond of the officer shall be liable for the plaintiff’s costs and attorney fees.

Rocky Anderson, Kendall’s attorney and former Salt Lake City mayor, feels the law contributes to state corruption.

“It severely undermines the rule of law while letting abusive law-enforcement officers off the hook for their violations of the state constitution and other state legal protections,” said Anderson.

Anderson says Kendall does not have enough money to pay for the bond, which could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in this case, as it would likely drag on for months, accruing huge attorney’s fees.

Kendall previously refused a $10,000 settlement from Salt Lake City, indicating a need for justice.

“It would be like, ‘For $10,000 you can break into my backyard and kill my dog,’ That’s not right,” said Kendall.

A video of Kendall’s interaction with Salt Lake City police shortly after they shot his dog is available below:

The drug detective who killed Danielle Willard more than 2 1/2 years ago went back on West Valley City’s payroll Wednesday, though it’s not clear whether he will work as a police officer there. Shaun Cowley — who was fired in September 2013 — had been fighting to get his job back. But the city on Wednesday filed paperwork to dismiss Cowley’s administrative complaint over his termination.

His attorney, Lindsay Jarvis, said Cowley was reinstated as a West Valley City employee as of 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, when an administrative hearing officer signed the dismissal order.

More than two years after police shot and killed Danielle Willard during an undercover drug investigation, the city settled a wrongful-death lawsuit with the woman’s family for $1.425 million. West Valley City said in a statement that the settlement is not an admission of liability “but rather a compromise of disputed claims among the parties.” The settlement covered the city and the police officers who were named as defendants in the suit.

The Nov. 2, 2012, shooting sparked numerous protests and led Willard’s parents, Melissa Kennedy and Frederick Willard, to file the federal suit. Named as defendants were West Valley City; narcotics unit detectives Shaun Cowley and Kevin Salmon; their supervisor Lt. John Coyle; and then-police chief Thayle “Buzz” Nielsen.

Danielle Willard was shot in the head by Shaun Cowley because he believed she was going to kill him

The West Valley City Police Department’s routine investigation of the shooting led to the discovery that the narcotics unit had a number of problems, including mishandling of evidence and booking evidence without proper documentation. The city disbanded the unit, and the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office and federal prosecutors dismissed more than 100 drug cases associated with it.

Cowley was later fired from the department for mishandling evidence. Salmon spent almost two years on paid leave waiting for the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office and West Valley to finish investigations into his conduct, then resigned last year, shortly before the city was to announce its findings.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill found that Cowley’s life was not in danger in his encounter with Willard, and filed a second-degree felony manslaughter charge against the officer. A 3rd District Court judge Dever dismissed the charge last year after a preliminary hearing.

“The state’s primary expert testified the defendant could assume Ms. Willard was attempting to kill him and deadly force was an appropriate response,” Dever said.  “This testimony establishes reasonable belief that the circumstances provided legal justification for the defendant’s conduct.”

In a statement, West Valley City said “some key pieces of evidence have been excluded by the hearing officer.”

“As a result of these developments, the city is no longer able to move forward with the case as it stands.  The city still believes that it was reasonable and appropriate to terminate Mr. Cowley. We are now exploring our options as to what the next steps are in this process,” the city said.

The city could settle with Cowley instead of reinstating him. Settlement talks had been attempted before, Jarvis said, but she termed them “insulting.” She claimed Cowley was owed nearly $200,000 in back pay and benefits, but West Valley City police believe he is only owed $104,000 in back pay.

A hearing is scheduled Monday to deal with that issue.

“There are a lot of emotional issues at play here. You’ve got a police department who is now pointing fingers as to who withheld the evidence. You’ve got a city manager who’s probably nervous about his job. You’ve got a public who’s now concerned about Officer Cowley who they have ripped apart, who’s now a police officer again,” Jarvis said. “There’s a lot of upset people in this city, so coming up with a global settlement hasn’t been effective at this point.”

Asked if he would want to go back to work for the West Valley City Police Department, Cowley paused and said: “We’ll see.”