The Denver Post
Angry cops set to visit mayor
Monday, April 19, 2004 - MONDAY UPDATE FROM 9NEWS: Hundreds of Denver police officers and their family members voiced their opposition to the suspension of fellow officer James Turney on the steps of the City and County building today.
The officers marched from the Police Protective Association building to the City and County building and Mayor John Hickenlooper's office.
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Police resentment over the suspension of officer James Turney will reach the ears of the mayor today.
Officers will head to Mayor John Hickenlooper's office this morning to protest Turney's suspension and ask city officials to explain what the officers see as an unjust punishment based on vague reasoning. "We're not going to ask the mayor to overturn his suspension. He can't do that," said Sgt. Mike Mosco, president of the Police Protective Association. "But tell us what he did wrong, train us so we don't get into the same situation, and let's move forward." A faction of officers wants to go even further and has launched a protest website. Others have threatened action up to a "blue flu," a deliberate job slowdown - something the union said it opposes. Turney last week was suspended for 10 months without pay in connection with the July 5 shooting death of Paul Childs, a 15-year-old developmentally disabled boy who was wielding a knife. The rally at the mayor's office is the latest sign of officer disapproval. At an emotional union meeting Friday, 500 officers - including Turney - showed up to vent their frustration. A fund has been set up to support Turney financially while he is out of work. A new website - www thebrokenbadge.com - depicts a police badge upside down and split in two. 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. Mosco 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. Despite the officers' complaints and some rumors, union officials said there will be no blue flu keeping cops home from work. "That is absolutely not true at all. We have told our members that we do not condone that in any form," Mosco said. Talk of a blue flu came up again Sunday at a City Park rally held by local ministers. "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." Detective Nick Rogers, vice president of the Police Protective Association, said talk of a blue flu is an attempt to drive a wedge between the public and the Police Department. "We've reiterated it 100 times. (People who talk about blue flu) are wrong. They are wrong to incite this kind of public attention," Rogers said. "They're trying to shift the focus over onto the Police Department. We'll go to work and do our jobs. We'll do everything we're supposed to do as professionally as possible." At the ministers' rally Sunday near the statue of Martin Luther King Jr., speakers told the crowd of about 300 people that the suspension was a good start but more reform is needed. "This is the beginning, not the end," said the Rev. Acen Phillips of Mount Gilead Baptist Church. Paul Childs' mother, Helen, listened as speakers talked about the death of her son. Her brother, Michael Thompson, said the family is grateful for the support. "It's exciting to know we have the community behind us," Thompson said. City Council President Elbra Wedgeworth and Councilman Michael Hancock said they support the suspension imposed by Manager of Safety Al LaCabe. Hancock said he hopes Turney's punishment will spur police reform. "Paul did not die in vain," he said. "I will put my life on it." 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 "broken badge" website makes it clear that at least some officers feel they are not getting much support. One section shows cartoons drawn by an officer depicting low morale in the department and mocking Hickenlooper and Police Chief Gerry Whitman. A letter posted on the website is attributed to Turney's wife, Trista, also a Denver police officer. The letter, dated March 28, urges unity within the department and sharply criticizes the ongoing discipline process. "We all know this is nothing but a political issue. Jim did what was right that day. Jim went home to his family that night. I am not saying that the shooting of Paul Childs was not a tragedy. It was and we all know it," the letter states. "However, the Chief and the mayor are sending us the message that it would have been much easier for the city to be paying for a cop's funeral and for his children to go to college, (than) to stand up in public and say that Jim did the right thing." Rogers said officers believe Turney acted properly according to his training. That's why they planned today's rally, he said. "I might be the next Jim Turney," Rogers said. "Any one of us could be. We all know that." |