Denver Post
911 tape released in shooting
Police promise full investigation into mentally disabled boy's death
Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - Confronting community outcry over the shooting death of a mentally disabled teen, Denver police on Monday took the unusual step of releasing a 911 tape just two days after the incident.
Paul Childs, 15, was shot to death Saturday by police in the doorway of his mother's Park Hill home as he held a kitchen knife, sparking cries of excessive force and racism. He is believed to be the youngest person shot and killed by Denver police.
On the tape, Paul's 16-year-old sister, Ashley, tells an operator he has a knife and "he's trying to stab my mother with it." But the dispatcher also cuts off his sister when she apparently attempts to explain her brother's disability. 
VIDEO
9NEWS's Bazi Kanani reports at police press conference and victim’s home, July 7, 2003.
Police Chief Gerry Whitman on Monday met with community leaders and offered condolences to the family. He promised a full investigation that he hoped "would help the healing process" but said officers must protect themselves and others.
"I don't want anyone playing down the edged-weapon threat because I've had three officers stabbed since 1990," Whitman said. None were killed.
Yet, the chief said, "I'm not taking a position right now on who's right and who's wrong."
Although police have not confirmed his identity, Officer James Turney, a five-year veteran, is named in a police report as the officer who fired the fatal shots at Paul. Turney was involved in a similar shooting last year.
On Jan. 30, 2002, Turney and a sergeant shot and killed Gregory Smith, a hearing-impaired 18-year-old man who pulled a knife on them on the staircase of his mother's northeast Denver home.
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Listen to the 911 tape
"The totality of it looks kind of bad," said John Race, a criminal-justice instructor at the University of Pittsburgh and a former police chief in Decatur, Ill., and South Burlington, Vt. "This officer shot and killed two people in their own homes, both had knives and both had handicaps? I wouldn't want to be the chief there."
Whitman declined to comment on specific details of the incident. He did confirm, however, that officers were within a 21-foot "danger zone" in which police policy allows use of deadly force against someone with a knife.
"I'm not going to second-guess the officers who were thrust into this situation. I want facts," Whitman said.
Paul's mother said she too was looking for answers.
"I want to know why they shot my baby," Helen Childs said. "I told that officer, 'Don't shoot!' and he shot and killed him anyway."
On Monday, she was overcome by emotion as she spoke before a cluster of television cameras, accompanied by family members and African-American activist Alvertis Simmons, who said Denver "is ready to explode" if police are not held accountable in Paul's death.
"Black males are under assault by the police, and we can't let that happen in Denver," Simmons said.
On the 911 tape, Ashley clearly and calmly tells the dispatcher that Paul is following her and her mother with a knife. The information was relayed to police arriving on scene.
"My brother has a knife and he's trying to stab my mother with it," Ashley says on the tape. Later, she says, "Now he's coming after me with it."
The Denver Post requested the release of the tape through an open-records request Monday. In the past, police have waited to complete investigations before releasing such tapes.
Simmons, after speaking with the family, said the tape does not absolve police.
"They still shouldn't have killed that kid. Maybe there was fault on both sides, but they need to change the policy," Simmons said. "They were not justified in shooting the kid."
Ashley said she was cut off before she could explain Paul's disability to the 911 operator.
The operator asked her, "Does he do this often?"
"No," Ashley Childs said, "he's just being..."
"OK, that's fine. I don't need the story," the operator said.
Helen Childs said she told police Paul had "special needs" and begged them not to shoot. On Monday, family members said the knife was "the dullest in the house" and "couldn't cut a tomato."
"He had it like this," his mother said, clutching her hands to her chest, "not coming toward them. He was holding it in a state of shock."
Ashley Childs said she called police to "calm Paul down." She and others in the house said they were not scared of him. Ashley said she called police because they often brought Paul home after he wandered away.
Paul, 5-feet-8, would have been a sophomore at East High School this fall. He suffered from seizures and was on medication, his family and friends said. He had trouble understanding commands and often had to be told multiple times to do something, they said.
Helen Childs on Monday called for legislators to create "Paul's Law," which would provide better training for police officers to deal with mental-health patients and stiffer penalties for improper use of force.
Mayor Wellington Webb said Monday that he was waiting for the investigation to be completed.
"It's always a tragedy when a death occurs like this," Webb said through a spokeswoman.
Mayor-elect John Hickenlooper did not return calls seeking comment.
Paul Childs is the fifth person killed by police gunfire this year in Denver. Since 1990, Denver police have shot, on average, about seven people a year, killing an average of three.
Colorado law allows an officer to shoot someone in self-defense or in defense of another person. Police also are allowed to shoot an armed felon who is trying escape.
The Denver Police Department's official use- of-force policy mirrors state law, requiring that officers use only the appropriate level of force to respond to a threat.
Denver's policy appears to be in line with that of most other major departments. The Los Angeles Police Department sets the same standard for use of deadly force, with the restriction that firing at or from a moving vehicle is generally prohibited.
"Denver's policy is absolutely right on the button with national standards," said Race, the University of Pittsburgh instructor.
Whitman said less-lethal alternatives were available but were not used. Two officers at the home had Tasers, an electric stun gun. The stun guns have been used 93 times since their introduction to Denver in March.
One police official said officers had no clear shot at Paul with the Taser.
The results of the police investigation will be forwarded to District Attorney Bill Ritter, who will decide whether to charge the officer.
In the past 27 years, two officers have been charged with a crime for shooting someone while on duty. Both were acquitted.
Jason Felch of The Denver Post contributed to this report.
911 TAPE
Ashley Childs: My brother has a knife and he's holding it up to my mom and he's really, really...Dispatcher: Huh?
My brother has a knife, and he's trying to stab my mother with it.
How old is he?
He's 15. He's trying to stab her because -
Thirteen years of age brother? What's his name?
Paul.
Paul what?
Childs.
Paul Childs.
Uh-huh.
How long is the knife?
Huh? Six inches. It's like a long knife, like a cutting knife, like a kitchen knife.
OK. Tell me what is his race.
He's African-American.
About how tall is he?
He's 5-8.
Does he do this often?
No, he's just being ...
(Interrupts) OK, that's fine. I don't need the story. What's his weight?
One hundred forty-six.
Could I get his color hair and eyes?
His eyes are dark brown.
... Where is the knife at, what hand?
Both of his hands. He has a black T-shirt on. It's in both of his hands.
So both hands and he has it to his mom.
Yeah, he's following her around the house with it. ... Now he's coming after me with it.
(In background, Helen says: "I'm going to ask you nicely. Are you going to put that knife down?")
And my mom is telling him to put the knife down, but he won't.
OK, you stay on the phone with me until they arrive.
OK.
What's he doing now, keep me updated.
He's putting his shoes on, and he has the knife in his left hand, and he's putting on his shoes with his right.
He's got a what now?
He's putting his shoes on, and he still has the knife in his hand.
Is he gonna leave or what?
Huh?
What's he putting his shoes on for?
He's trying to run away, and, you know, we have a deadbolts on our door, and my mom's like locked him in the house so he won't try to run away.
So he can't get out.
Yeah, he can't get out. And that's why he has a knife in his hand, because he wants to leave and my mom's not letting him leave.
Has he done this before?
No, he's never, he's, he's hit my mom, but he's never pulled out a knife. (Pause) But he runs off all the time.
Where's the knife at now? In what room is he in?
He's in the living room and he's coming towards my mom right now.
Now where's he at?
He, uh (unintelligible) ...
Huh?
He's in the hallway now.
He's in the ...
He's coming back in the living room.
What's he doing? Is he angry? Appear to be angry?
Yeah. And he's walking around with a knife.
He never tried to stab her, though?
Never. This was the first time.
Has he actually tried to stab her this time, or no?
Yeah, he's like following her around, and when she turns her back he'll try to stab her and she'll hurry up and turn around. (Pause.) And now he's following her with the knife.
What, what ... I've already got an officer on scene, but what hand is the knife in?
The officer's right ... is the officer ... wait.
What hand is the knife in?
No the officer's not here. (Dog starts barking in background.) Um, I don't see him. ...
Ma'am ...
(Voice in background: "Lock the door!")
Where do we go?
(Confusion in background.)
Yes, he has a knife. Hello, are you still with me on the phone?
Where is the guy at, where is he at, your brother?
He's standing right here with the knife in his hand.
Has the officer got him ...
No the officer doesn't have him yet.
(Voice in background: "Everyone! Get out of the house! Go out the back door!")
The officer told me ...
OK, go!
Portions of the 911 call placed by Ashley Childs, sister of 15-year-old Paul Childs, who was shot by Denver police:
Ashley Childs: "My brother has a knife and he's trying to stab my mother with it."
Dispatcher: "Does this happen often?"
Childs: "No, Paul's just being ..."
Dispatcher: "I don't need the story."
Childs (later in the call): "Now he's coming after me with it."
Helen Childs, mother of Paul Childs, is heard in the background: "I'm going to ask you nicely. Are you going to put that knife down?"
Ashley Childs: "And my mom is telling him to put the knife down but he won't."