WVC leaders oppose officer's reinstatement, fight ruling in appeals court


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WEST VALLEY CITY — West Valley City went to the Utah Court of Appeals Wednesday to oppose reinstatement of Lt. John Coyle, who headed the police department's now defunct Neighborhood Narcotics Unit.

Coyle was demoted two levels to a patrol officer after it was discovered that officers in his unit had misplaced or mishandled drugs and money, kept items seized from cases, improperly used confidential informants, and used GPS tracking on vehicles without warrants.

A total of 126 criminal cases tied to the drug unit were dismissed by the Salt Lake County District Attorney's office and the U.S. Attorney's Office because of credibility issues.

Coyle appealed the demotion to the city's civil service commission in January 2014 and was reinstated as a lieutenant later that year. The commission said he had committed "technical violations" to policy but said the demotion was disproportionate to his conduct.

West Valley City is appealing that reinstatement.

Judith Wolferts, who argued the city's case Wednesday, called Coyle "an unrepentant supervisor, and a supervisor who knew what was happening."


This was chain of custody. This goes directly to exactly how evidence is going to be viewed in a court of law. He should know how significant chain of command was.

–Judith Wolferts, city attorney


"This was chain of custody. This goes directly to exactly how evidence is going to be viewed in a court of law," Wolferts told the three-judge panel. "He should know how significant chain of command was."

Erik Strindberg, Coyle's attorney, argued that too much blame for the department's problems fell to him after the chief and deputy chief had both resigned. Meanwhile, other officers who were sanctioned were given only brief suspensions and were not demoted.

Ultimately, the civil service commission agreed that the demotion had been unwarranted for an officer with a clean record whose actions had been less direct and less egregious, Strindberg emphasized.

"They were very careful in looking at what Mr Coyle's role was," Strindberg told the judges.

Coyle, who now works in the department's records division, is anxious for closure on the issue.

"John is a dedicated police officer. He would like this over, he would like to continue serving as a lieutenant and continue to serve the people of West Valley City, which he did in an exemplary manner," Strindberg said as he left the courthouse with Coyle.

The Neighborhood Narcotics Unit came under scrutiny after two of its detectives, Shaun Cowley and Kevin Salmon, shot and killed 21-year-old Danielle Willard in a botched undercover investigation. Manslaughter charges brought against Cowley were eventually dismissed when, in a rare move, a judge declined to bring the case to trial.

Salmon quit the department the same day Cowley was acquitted.

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McKenzie Romero

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