Denver Post

Bitter postscript: Childs family finds fourth bullet
By Kieran Nicholson
Denver Post Staff Writer

Saturday, October 18, 2003 - An uncle of the 15-year-old mentally disabled boy who was fatally shot by a Denver police officer turned over a bullet Friday from the shooting scene to the Denver district attorney's office.

Michael Thompson called the office of Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter Friday morning and said a family member had recently found the bullet while cleaning the home on East Thrill Place, where Paul Childs was shot, said district attorney spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough.

Officer James Turney, who remains on paid leave from the Police Department, shot Childs four times on July 5. The bullet turned over Friday hit Childs in the lower left abdomen and came out of his upper buttocks area.

Investigators had found three of the four bullets, but one had not been recovered, Kimbrough said.

"As part of the investigation, the DA's office has been aware from the beginning that out of the four times Paul was shot, only three of the slugs were recovered," Kimbrough said. "We knew the fourth was still in the home."

The missing bullet had "ricocheted or bounced" where it was not initially found, Kimbrough said.

Police investigators went back to the home on Aug. 19 to attempt to find the bullet, but the Child's family denied them entry, Kimbrough said.

Thompson could not be reached for comment Friday.

On Thursday, Ritter's office ruled that Turney will not be charged with any crime in connection with Childs' death.

Turney encountered the teenager after police were called to the home by a family member.

Childs was holding a knife with an 8 1/2-inch blade and didn't drop it when Turney ordered him to do so, according to the district attorney's report.

Turney told investigators: "I was in fear for my life."

Childs was legally blind, suffered grand mal seizures and had developmental and learning disabilities. He was not on his medication and was recovering from a recent seizure. Those facts were never given to police at the scene, according to the DA's report.

The shooting has eroded the Denver black community's trust in the Police Department.

Even though the district attorney found no crime in the shooting, the Police Department's Internal Affairs unit will investigate the incident. Possible police measures against Turney have not been discounted.

The discovery of the fourth bullet doesn't alter the outcome of the district attorney's investigation, Kimbrough said.

"It closes the loop, but doesn't change anything about the result of the investigation," Kimbrough said.

Denver police now have the bullet and will run it through tests to determine that it came from Turney's gun, Kimbrough said.

The first shot hit Childs in the lower left abdomen; the second shot in the right side of the abdomen, exiting his back; the third shot hit the boy in his right chest, exiting the back; and the fourth went through a shoulder.