The officers marched from the Police Protective Association building to the City and County building and Mayor John Hickenlooper's office.

Officers protested Officer James Turney's 10-month suspension without pay.

The officers were upset that the mayor was not available. Mayor Hickenlooper said he had heard about the rally on Friday and already had a previous engagement Monday.

Turney shot and killed Paul Childs, a mentally disabled 15-year-old last July when he refused to drop a knife. A family member called police to report that Childs was threatening his mother with a knife.

Manager of Safety Al McCabe suspended Turney last week.

Police officers say the punishment is unjust and Sgt. Mike Mosco, president of the Police Protective Association said most officers believe Turney should not have been suspended at all.

"It's created such uncertainty. Nobody will tell us exactly what he did wrong," Mosco said.

He told the crowd on the steps of the City and County building that the police were not planning a blue flu or work slowdown.

"We'll go to work and do our jobs. We'll do everything we're supposed to do as professionally as possible," Detective Nick Rogers, vice president of the Police Protective Association, said.

Some officers have launched a protest website called the Broken Badge. The site provides a detailed defense of Turney and a direct challenge to officers to "take a stand." It is not affiliated with the police union.

Sunday, another rally was held with members of the community. Most support the suspension, but feel it didn't go far enough.

Ministers at the rally criticized officers who may consider a work slow down.

"We pay those officers' salaries. We pay them to work. They have pledged to protect and serve," said the Rev. Reginald Holmes, president of the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance. "They have a right to protest. They have a duty to work."

Many community leaders believe more reforms are needed in the police department.

"This is the beginning, not the end," said the Rev. Acen Phillips of Mount Gilead Baptist Church.

The ministers said they are only targeting the actions of a few officers, not police in general. "We're not fighting police officers. We believe in law and order," Holmes said.

The police officer's protest is expected to start at 9:30 a.m.

A fund has been set up to support Turney financially while he is out of work. Turney can appeal the punishment to the Denver Civil Service Commission and, later, to the courts.

The Childs family has hired celebrity attorney Johnnie Cochran, who filed a notice of intent to sue the city for $5 million.