$4 million settlement reached in officer-involved shooting of Zane James

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah — A Utah family has reached a $4 million settlement with the city of Cottonwood Heights in relation to the shooting of their 19-year-old son by a city police officer.

Zane James, who was wanted in connection with a couple of armed robberies, was shot by then-Officer Casey Davis on May 29, 2018.

The teen was transported to the hospital in fair condition, but died from his injuries two days later.

On Friday, Cottonwood Heights’ insurance provider — the Utah Local Governments Trust — settled the family’s claims.

“While the city knows no amount of money will be sufficient to assuage the loss of their son, the city hopes that this settlement brings closure for all parties,” a press release from the city stated Friday night. 

The release went on to say, “It is important to note that nothing in this settlement admits to any wrongdoing on the part of the city or its former police officer involved with the shooting, which is consistent with the findings of the Salt Lake County District Attorney that Officer Davies was justified in the shooting and there were no prosecutable findings from their review.”

Just last month, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill ruled that while the shooting was justified, the officer was not justified in using his patrol car to knock James off his motorcycle.

Sim Gill finds use of force ‘not justified’ before shooting of Zane James

 

Cottonwood Heights Mayor Mike Weichers released this statement Friday night:

The city did not support the decision to settle these lawsuits, as we believed the cases in both federal and state courts were on a trajectory to be dismissed. Nevertheless, we respect the Trust’s decision to bring closure to this matter and to eliminate risks associated with a potential jury trial influenced by current anti-law enforcement attitudes in society today. We fully support our police and the very difficult job they have in keeping our community safe. We extend our sincere condolences to the James family on the loss of their son.