|
Denver Post
Hundreds call for justice
Friday, July 11, 2003 - About 500 people took to the streets Thursday night for a candlelight vigil in memory of Paul Childs, offering a degree of support the mentally disabled teenager never had in life.
The calm community event allayed fears of unrest sparked earlier in the day by an anonymous flier calling for violent retribution against police over the shooting death of the 15-year-old last weekend. At the vigil in Skyland Park, about three blocks from where Paul was killed, northeast Denver community members offered support for the Childs family and demanded justice be done. "It's not anger out here. It's hurt. We hurt watching our children getting killed," said Jackie Rollerson, a 44-year- old lifelong Park Hill resident who said she has the same epileptic condition Paul had. "Now we need to channel this energy in the right way. This should be the beginning of something." Earlier in the day, Mayor Wellington Webb was flanked by African-American ministers, Police Chief Gerry Whitman and elected officials to condemn the incendiary flier. Although those who stood with him might not agree on the shooting, Webb said, "we agree we will not let anyone try to destroy the city." "If anyone tries to take the law into their own hands, they will be severely dealt with." Paul Childs was shot to death Saturday afternoon while holding a knife with an 8-inch blade in the doorway of his mother's home in the 5500 block of East Thrill Place in northeast Denver. The widely denounced flier, apparently made Wednesday and circulated in the city Thursday, invokes Paul's name to call for shooting cops in the streets and labels Denver police "racist." So far the flier appears to have had no effect, and there have been no reports of related violence against police. The Childs family condemned the flier through a spokesman. The family has contracted O.J. Simpson defense attorney Johnnie Cochran to represent them, but he did not return calls for comment Thursday. The flier misappropriated a quote by the Rev. Paul Martin from Wednesday's Denver Post, in which the minister who will officiate at the burial of Paul Childs on Saturday called for "going on the offense instead of always being on the defense." "They used it out of context. It's a shame," Martin said Thursday. "I'm devastated by it, but I'm not completely surprised by it. It's just very disappointing." Martin said his comments were calling for action on demands made by the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance, which asked this week for a federal investigation of the Denver Police Department and for the officer who shot Paul to be taken off the streets. Police union treasurer David Neil condemned the flier and said officers will be ready. "If some sicko wants to put that stuff out, there's not much we can do about it," Neil said. "We can learn from it and be on guard." Officer Jim Lee Turney and officers Todd Geddes, Randall Krouse and David Naysmith went to the home after the 911 call. Turney fired four shots with a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun. None of the other officers fired. Whitman said less-lethal alternatives were available but were not used. Two officers at the home had Tasers, an electric stun gun. One police official said officers had no clear shot at Paul with the Taser. One officer on scene also had specialized training to deal with the mentally disabled. Turney also was involved in the Jan. 30, 2002, shooting of Gregory Smith, an 18-year-old deaf man. Smith's mother, Regina Keith, attended Thursday's vigil and said she never had this level of support. "They didn't do this when my son died. I hope it's a good thing," Keith said. The Rev. Leon Kelly, an anti-gang activist, said he worries Paul's family will be similarly left on its own once the controversy has cooled. "I wish Paul would have had the type of support in life that he has in death," Kelly said. "I've been to marches and rallies for years. Give it two weeks and the family will be suffering by itself." At the vigil, Jorge Merida, a former neighborhood resident, said police showed little regard for Paul's life. "What really outrages me is that a child was not treated as a human being," Merida said. "As one of the speakers said, if he had been a mountain lion or a bear, he would have been tranquilized." Yet Ted Hayes, an African-American who has a 22-year-old son with mental illness, said he cannot fault the police in their efforts to help people with disabilities. "He had some trouble with his meds, and I called the cops and paramedics. They were very professional," he said. "I'm here to support the family and the community." The shooting has angered many, including members of the ministerial alliance, which represents 35 black churches. The Rev. Reginald Holmes, president of the alliance, said he was dismayed at the flier. He said he believes it was intended to distract people from the ministers' demands. "It is a diversionary tactic," Holmes said. "We are united and clear in our goals." City Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth, who represents the northeast Denver district where the Childs family lives, shredded a copy of the flier. "Tear it up. That's what it deserves," Wedgeworth said. Webb said he will wait on the results of the police investigation of the shooting. But, he said, the city must be prepared to make policy changes if necessary. "I think it's very important that if you made a mistake, you say you did. You can't bring somebody back. But what you can do is try to make sure that it can't happen again," Webb said. Webb said he will accept nothing less than an open inquiry. "No one is above the law, whether they are citizens or police officers," Webb said. Denver Post staff writers Mark Couch and Kevin Simpson and correspondent Marilyn Robinson contributed to this report.
|