Denver Post

Don't rush to judge police
By Jeffrey Kolts

Monday, July 14, 2003 - I am the police officer who may have responded to your call for service, handled your accident, arrested your friend or family member or hurt myself keeping the city of Denver safe for its citizens. I am proud of this organization, the job that I perform, and the uniform that I wear.

I am also disgusted with some of the comments made in relation to the recent shooting involving Officer James Turney.

It galls me that the Rev. James Peters Jr., a pastor and vice president of the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance, was quoted as making the comment, "He (Turney) would be more at home in the white sheets of the Ku Klux Klan."

I am amazed further that the media feels a need to play into the hands of an obvious attempt to incite the community to turn against the police. Our job, difficult as it is, should not be made harder by people who seem woefully uninformed as to our training, let alone the dangers that police officers face every day.

I am confident that the system works. We have in place a discipline review board where civilians have a voice in the discipline process. By all accounts, it does work. The feedback received from the citizens involved, as well as from officers, makes it is a fair system.

The investigation of officers involved in critical incidents such as this one is rigorous, not only because of the district attorney's involvement, but also because of such incidents being tried in the court of public opinion.

As police officers, we understand the responsibility that comes with the profession, and the men and women of the Denver Police Department take this very seriously. However, for others who have no idea about nor motivation to understand our job, it is easy to cast stones upon those who protect the community. Ask yourself: Who is keeping the community safe while you are sleeping at night?

ations tossed about in the article of July 9th "Alliance calls for federal inquiry" such as:

Rep. DeGette: "...the number of shootings by Denver police is 'disturbingly high'". I wonder if Rep. DeGette has ever confronted a man with a knife, or a gun, or other deadly weapon. Police officers are asked to step into dangerous situations every day and do so without question. We accept this as part of the job we have chosen to do. The fact that officers use deadly force cannot be viewed in a vacuum. Each situation must be examined and evaluated as to the specific facts surrounding the use of force. our esteemed Representative what constitutes "disturbingly high".

kind in our city. And we definitely don't want his kind on our police force" His kind? What is his kind? It seems that certain members of the community would like to see the officer in this case hung without just cause. Establishing just cause requires a full investigation. be a bit hazy here, but doesn't just cause entail the situation being investigated and charges being filed if appropriate? The District Attorney has noted that once the investigation is completed, the file will become available to the public. make judgements without knowing all the facts, that just cause is merely an inconvenience.

The 911 operator in the Paul Childs case reportedly was told that Childs was trying to stab his mother with a six-inch kitchen knife.

brother was trying to stab their mother with a 6-inch kitchen knife". This is the information the officer had going into the situation. Police officers often do not have the luxury of being able to talk to everyone involved in a developing incident. Many times, officers are forced to work with just the information gleaned from a caller. If officers feel there is a danger, then they are within their rights to use deadly force.

Police understand that their actions will be scrutinized and second-guessed. It is the lot that we deal with as members of our profession.

Is the death of someone as a result of a call for service tragic? Yes, it is. Do police officers actively look for ways to kill people? No, they do not.

We accept the use of deadly force as part of our profession, but the Denver Police Department is not a bunch of rogue cops who shoot everyone that they see. Rather, it is a group of respectable, trained professionals who put themselves in harm's way on a daily basis. I look to Denver officers who have been killed in the line of duty since I became a police officer in 1988: Bob Wallis, Shawn Leinen, Ron DeHerrera, Bruce Vanderjagt and Dennis Licata. Each of these officers knew that there was a possibility that they could be killed or seriously injured. Each gave their lives to protect the citizens of this city.

I wonder if there would be the same outcry from critics if a police officer had been killed as a result of this call, or if they would chalk it up to "that's what they get paid to do."