Denver Post
Clerics urge removal of cop
Officer suspended in unrelated incident; reports of past steroid use emerge
Wednesday, July 09, 2003 - Hours after influential African-American ministers angrily demanded he be taken off the streets, the police officer who fatally shot a 15-year-old mentally disabled boy last weekend was suspended Tuesday over an unrelated incident.
Officer James Turney was sent home with pay after the police internal affairs division launched an investigation, police officials said. Police would not discuss the suspension but did say it had nothing to do with the shooting of Paul Childs on Saturday. A source familiar with the internal affairs investigation said Turney allegedly made threatening remarks to his ex-wife during a telephone conversation Friday, a day before the fatal shooting. The shooting of Childs prompted the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance, which represents 35 black churches, to demand Tuesday that the U.S. Justice Department investigate alleged civil rights abuses by Denver police and that Turney be permanently barred from serving in patrol duty. "We demand that he never work as a patrol officer in that capacity in any community in Denver," said the Rev. Reginald Holmes, president of the alliance and minister at New Covenant Christian Church. "This was wrong. Somebody needs to say they're sorry, and there needs to be changes for the better." The Denver Post has learned that Turney, 29, had a history of steroid use before he was accepted as a police officer in 1998. Steroids were not the cause of his suspension, a police spokesman said. Turney ranked last among candidates qualified for appointment to the police academy in 1998 - 158th out of 158 candidates who were nominated. When Turney was admitted to the academy that October, he already had been turned down a total of four times by police departments in Omaha and Lincoln, Neb., and Council Bluffs, Iowa, records show. Turney was hired in Denver primarily because of his Asian ancestry, leapfrogging over other qualified non-minority candidates, said Denver Civil Service Commission director Earl Peterson. Turney's mother is Asian. He was hired through a court-ordered affirmative-action rule the department has operated under for years. Known as the Hoag Decree, it requires the department to hire minorities at a rate that would reflect the population of the community. Turney admitted in his Denver police application to "experimental" use of oral and injectable steroids several times in 1991 and 1992. He said he purchased the drug, then sold it back when he had a bad reaction. His admission of steroid use would not have disqualified him from the department, officials said. Turney could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Paul Childs was shot Saturday afternoon while holding a knife in the doorway of his mother's home in the 5500 block of East Thrill Place. His 16-year-old sister, Ashley, had called police because "my brother has a knife, and he's trying to stab my mother with it," according to a tape of the 911 call. Ashley said she called police to "calm Paul down" and because they often brought Paul home after he wandered away. Paul, 5 feet 8 inches, 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. He 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. Police Chief Gerry 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. Holmes, of the ministerial alliance, said he does not believe the shooting was racially motivated. Police union president Mike Mosco offered condolences to the family. But he said the Police Protective Association stands behind Turney and wants a "full, impartial investigation." "We have a split second to make a decision. After we make that decision, people have years to sit back and second-guess the decision," Mosco said. "Basically it's Monday-morning quarterbacking." Turney's former commander, retired Denver police Lt. Mark Leone, said the young officer was distraught over his shooting in January 2002 of 18-year-old Gregory Smith, a hearing-impaired teenager who pulled a knife on police. "He felt the pain of the family. He felt bad that he had to be part of the situation that caused that pain," Leone said. "He's quiet, easygoing and always a gentleman." On Tuesday the ministers met with District Attorney Bill Ritter and had a previous meeting with Whitman. The ministers are requesting a meeting with U.S. Justice Department officials today. The Rev. Paul Martin of Macedonia Baptist Church - where Paul's funeral will be held Saturday, and the church the family attended - said the depth of anger in the community is unprecedented. "The police are guilty of many things in this community," Martin said. "It's time now that we go on the offense instead of always being on the defense. Historically this community has not been proactive but reactive. That's going to change." The ministers presented a list of five demands: Turney should be taken off his patrol shift and assigned to a desk job. All Denver police officers, 911 operators and dispatchers should undergo new training to deal with the mentally disabled. The use-of-force policy should be changed to explicitly state that less-lethal force is the primary option for officers. The federal government should intervene and investigate alleged civil-rights abuses by police and an independent review of all police functions should take place. The city should create a stronger citizens review board "with some teeth in it" that can make strong recommendations to the district attorney. Mayor Wellington Webb said he will meet with the Childs family today but had not formed a decision on the validity of the shooting. "I'm going to wait until the investigation is complete and see what the facts are. I think it's a tragedy for all involved, for this family. It's tough for anybody to lose a kid, or lose any member of their family," Webb said. "It's also tough for the officers who fire their weapons and take a life as well. I think sometimes people forget that. You suffer on both sides." Mayor-elect John Hickenlooper also expressed concern for the Childs family. "I think it's a tragedy for the city. I want to wait until all the facts come out. I don't have all the facts, and (I want to) see what the investigation brings," Hickenlooper said. "My heart goes out to the family." Denver police officers are trained to consider a knife-wielding suspect dangerous to them at a distance of 21 feet. An officer should be prepared to draw and fire a weapon within that distance, according to training guidelines. In the past 27 years, Denver officers have been charged with a crime for shooting someone while on duty. Both were acquitted. Denver Post staff writers Mark Couch and Kevin Simpson, and correspondents Marilyn Robinson and Jason Felch contributed to this report. Memorial: 1 p.m. Saturday at Macedonia Baptist Church, 3240 Adams St. Candlelight vigil: 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Childs' home, 5550 E. Thrill Place, with a walk to nearby Skyland Park HOW TO HELP A fund has been set up in Paul Childs' name at Zion United Community Credit Union, 6700 E. Colfax Ave., Denver, CO 80220. Call 303-333-2910 for more information.