Last week, West Valley City agreed to pay out $750,000 to settle two federal court cases filed amidst allegations of police misconduct and the controversial disbanding of the discredited Neighborhood Narcotics Unit several years ago.
The city awarded half a million to Terry and Brandy Christiansen, who filed a lawsuit in federal court in 2014 alleging West Valley City police officers violated their civil rights and used excessive force during a 2012 drug bust.
And they agreed to pay $150,000 to Dante Donell Ketchens and Danielle Swasey, who claimed in a 2013 federal lawsuit that the agency’s narcotics officers violated their constitutional rights when they detained their family and searched their home without a warrant in 2012.