News

Actions

Mother calls for firing of Unified Police detective who shot her son in incident DA ruled not justified

Posted at 9:58 PM, May 27, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-28 00:02:38-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- A mother is demanding that a Unified Police Detective be fired after he shot her son during a pursuit last October.

The organization Utah Against Police Brutality gathered outside the Salt Lake County Building Saturday. Standing alongside them was Damian Huth and his family.

It was back in October that the 20-year-old was shot in the arm while hopping a fence in Kearns, trying to escape Unified Police Detective Cordell Whitmore following a traffic stop. Huth had an active warrant for his arrest at the time.

“The doctor told me if the bullet had been one inch in any other direction, he would have not have survived,” said his mother, Mary Huth.

Huth says she’s not against police officers, in fact, she said her father was a police officer. But she says there are a small handful that don’t deserve to wear the uniform.

“The officer should have been charged, and at the very minimum he needs be fired,” Huth said.

Whitmore testified that he blacked-out as Huth was fleeing and doesn’t remember how exactly he shot him.

“He’s dangerous, I mean, we can’t have people running around with guns who black out,” Huth said. “I don’t think there is anyone on the planet that would believe that’s the truth, and I don’t understand how Sim Gill could have believed that was the truth.”

In March, District Attorney Sim Gill ruled that the shooting was not justified but declined to press charges, saying he believed the shooting was accidental.

“I don’t believe his story; I think that he pointed the gun at my son and pulled the trigger,” Huth said.

Damian Huth continues to recover from his injuries and now has a metal plate in his arm, while Whitmore remains a member of the Unified Police Department for now.

UPD released this statement.

“Unfortunately, we cannot comment on the Huth incident specifically, because it is still under internal investigation… We also take these issues very seriously and are willing and anxious to answer any question or concerns about the Whitmore incident… The time and place to do so is not at a public rally.”

Whitmore remains on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of that internal investigation.