Salt Lake City, UT – On May 6, the U.S. 10th Circuit heard the name Dillon Taylor for the first time.

Taylor was unarmed and likely could not hear Salt Lake City cop Bron Cruz when he was murdered by Cruz on August 11, 2014 outside a convenience store in South Salt Lake. The killing was quickly ruled justified, but the family filed a lawsuit roughly a year later. That suit was dismissed in 2019, and the hearing on May 6 was an appeal of that dismissal.

Gina Thayne, Taylor’s aunt and legal guardian, recalls how difficult it was waiting to hear anything about their lawsuit before it was dismissed.

“The report sat on [U.S. District Court Judge David Nuffer’s] desk,” said Thayne, “and he let it sit there for three years, just to shut it down.”

The suit seeks settlement for the surviving members of Taylor’s family, including his siblings and cousins, two of whom— Jerrail Taylor and Adam Thayne – were with Taylor when he was murdered. Cruz and two other officers were responding to a 911 call claiming someone flashed a gun. Cruz confronted and killed Taylor seconds after exiting his police vehicle. Thayne was not informed about Taylor’s death until hours later when she received a call from her son at the police station at 1 a.m.

After Taylor was shot, his brother and cousin were detained and questioned by investigators, ignoring the fact that they were not suspected of breaking any laws. They were held handcuffed, scared and confused, in a cold room for five hours. After repeatedly asking for answers, an investigator informed the young men that Taylor had died on site, and then left them sobbing for another 20 minutes before they were finally allowed to call home.

“I don’t know how to explain it, but when you lose someone to a tragedy like this, the pain just doesn’t go away,” Thayne said. “You live with it every day, and you learn to live with it, and you learn to go forward, but it never makes sense.”

Sadly, the financial burden of losing a loved one to police violence is a challenge that many families must face.

“We all had a lot of expenses, and it’s still been a lot of expense,” Thayne said. “People don’t understand this. If it hadn’t been for GoFundMe, I don’t know how we would have paid for Dillon.”

Thayne continued, “I think every family deserves a settlement, and unfortunately, that seems like the only way that we can get any accountability at this time. We can’t bring back our loved one. We’re never going to get [the police] to stand up and say, ‘We’re sorry.’” She added, “If enough of them pay, then they might revisit their policies, and things might change.”

Part of the waiting and Salt Lake City Police Department’s resistance to settling is explained by the fact that unlike many other police departments insured by outside sources, SLCPD insures themselves. Chief Mike Brown and then-Mayor Jackie Biskupski could have settled with the Taylor estate outside of court, but repeatedly chose not to do so. According to Thayne, this is because “they have the power and they know they have the power.” Yet she still feels that progress against police crimes, although slow, continues because of the persistent efforts of victims’ families and groups like Utah Against Police Brutality.

As for what might happen next, Thayne is tentatively optimistic.

“From a legal standpoint, under Utah law, the odds are against us, period. We are hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst,” Thayne said.

One thing remains certain, however: the fight for justice for Dillon Taylor will continue for as long as it takes. Thayne said that even after the case is settled one way or another, she will always continue to share Taylor’s story, fight for justice for victims of police brutality, and advocate for other families who have to face the future after losing a loved one to police violence.

#SaltLakeCityUT #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #DillonTaylor

Salt Lake City, UT – Utah Against Police Brutality rang in the New Year with a rally here at the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building. Around 50 people braved the freezing temperatures to hear speeches against the ongoing police brutality in the U.S. In the state of Utah, police murders are outpacing those committed by drug dealers, gang members and child abusers.

In 2014, two high-profile police shootings occurred, taking the lives of Dillon Taylor and Darrien Hunt. Officer Bron Cruz killed Dillon Taylor, even though Taylor was unarmed. A body camera captured the incident; however, Salt Lake City (SLC) District Attorney Sim Gill justified the shooting. SLC Police Chief Chris Burbank said, “Under the circumstance, he used the appropriate force necessary facing that difficult situation,” while in the same breath he declared, “that young man shouldn't have lost his life.”

In another police murder, Darrien Hunt was stopped while carrying a model toy sword after two 911-phone calls reported him as suspicious. Darrien was an African American man walking in the majority white suburb of Saratoga Springs.

Despite contradicting testimonies, officers Schauerhamer and Judson were cleared, with Utah County District Attorney Jeff Buhman justifying the shooting. This result came despite video surveillance showing Darrien Hunt running for his life, with no toy sword in hand when the fatal shots were fired. The autopsy reports six shots to Darrien’s back. It was reported that Officer Judson wore a body camera that day, yet it was not activated during the encounter.

Activists are looking forward to 2015 as a year when all this changes. Utah Against Police Brutality made two New Year resolution: a campaign to create mandatory external reviews of all police shootings and a campaign to organize community classes for Know Your Rights training.

“They kill indiscriminately. They never are held accountable. Nobody asks questions. They sweep it under the rug and lie, then vilify the victim after that,” said Ash X to the crowd in front of the Federal Building.

Pratik Raghu spoke: “I was deeply upset by the way that the UN Human Rights Commission and Committee on Torture dismissed and belittled Mike Brown's family members.” Raghu views the killings, “as part of an international epidemic of police violence against civilians from Ferguson to Palestine to India.”

“The way the Ogden Police Department racially profiles Latino youth results in higher incarceration rates,” explained Malik Dayo an activist from nearby Ogden.

“Now we have to talk about Antonio Martin, not just Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and Darrien Hunt,” explained Lex Scott, president of the United Front Party. Lamenting the ever-growing list of African Americans shot dead by police, Scott added, “We need to let those people out there know, that there will be no peace until we get our justice.”

Protesters marched on major streets in downtown Salt Lake City, taking the full lane of traffic on State Street, Main Street and West Temple. They then staged a die-in at a busy intersection, causing traffic to shut down and TRAX trains to back up.

The marched ended at the New Year’s ball drop, with protesters shutting down a major intersection. Police scrambled on scene to block off traffic, while protesters chanted “From Ferguson to SLC, end police brutality!”

A dozen SLC police officers looked on as cars forced their way through the crowd of protesters. The cops stood idle as protesters took action, with some ending up on top of moving vehicles. No severe injuries were reported.

One SLC cop pushed his way through a crowd, using his wooden baton to shove protesters out of the way. This officer refused to reveal his name and badge number to protesters.

“Utah Against Police Brutality is a great group doing great things. The United Front Party is proud to march with them and address the issue of police brutality. Addressing this issue is long overdue,” declared Lex Scott at the end of the action.

Follow activists on the ground in Utah with #utahprotests.

#SaltLakeCityUT #PoliceBrutality #DillonTaylor #DarrienHunt #UtahAgainstPoliceBrutality

Salt Lake City, UT – Chants of “No justice, no peace, no killer police!” and “Hands up, don’t shoot!” filled the streets here, Aug. 20, with about 100 people rallying at the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building. Organizer Fatima Badran urged protesters to make two phone calls: the first call to Salt Lake City police chief Chris Burbank one demanding justice for Dillon Taylor and the second to Missouri Governor Dixon to demand that he withdraw the National Guard from the streets of Ferguson. People must be allowed to have their democratic rights to address injustice without living under a military occupation.

Kim Kasey spoke out against the recent wave of police militarization. Some of the equipment used in Ferguson once belonged to U.S. soldiers occupying places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Scott Simons spoke next, telling protesters that they are the resistance. Simons’ own daughter was the victim of a police murder in January 2013.

Karen Rodriguez recited her anti-racist poem Our Skin, containing the lines “Black, for all the time when our people can’t see justice and claim at last, the freedom still isn’t ours when we look at the flag,” and, “Black is wise, Black is power, Blacks shall continue to overcome, because it is no longer a tone, color, or race, It is a name and way of being, it is a tradition, a history of colored men, women and children striving and overcoming adversity.”

Aaron Swanenberg was a close friend of Dillon Taylor, who was shot and killed Aug. 11 by a still-unnamed police officer, stated “We know that there’s evidence the police won’t release, body camera footage and 911 phone calls, why won’t they release what’s public information?” Swanenberg continued, “We can’t walk away from this now, we must keep pushing forward until we get the justice we demand.”

Members of Dillon Taylor’s family were present, including his aunt and brother. They addressed the packed crowd, thanking them for showing up to support their family and carry out the fight for justice. Jerrail Taylor was with his brother at 7-Eleven when Dillon Taylor was killed, and said that his brother had headphones in and couldn't respond to the officer’s orders.

Gregory Lucero of the Revolutionary Students Union drove home the protest by stating the demands and the need for people to take concrete actions. “We’re here to recognize the tragedy of two lives cut short by police brutality,” Lucero said. He also spoke about the need for the people to carry out the demands because police and the politicians aren't going to do the right thing. The police have both a history of murdering Black and Brown men and a history of covering it up. Lucero emphasized, “When the police murder unarmed people, it’s still murder!”

Fatima Badran plans to continue organizing street level protests, mobilizing communities to resist the onslaught of police violence.

#SaltLakeCityUT #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #RevolutionaryStudentsUnion #Antiracism #MichaelBrown #Ferguson #MikeBrown #DillonTaylor