The Denver Post
Mixed reaction in Childs case
Thursday, May 27, 2004 -
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper showed political dexterity in responding to the Paul Childs shooting in a comprehensive way, some city observers say.
But some fault the Hickenlooper administration for undermining the city's police force by punishing the officer who killed the teenager. "I think Hickenlooper's team has done a credible job in a clearly no- win situation," said Don Bain, a Denver lawyer who made an unsuccessful mayoral bid in 1987 and led the state's Republican Party from 1993 to 1997. But some observers fault Hickenlooper's staff for punishing officer James Turney when they believe he followed police procedure by firing on Childs. "They have just failed in this case in every instance to support the police officers on the street," said Ted Hackworth, a Republican city councilman for 24 years who retired last year. "I'm not a bit happy with what they've done." The police shooting of the developmentally disabled teen has proven the biggest controversy so far in the mayor's young administration. Hickenlooper took office about two weeks after the July shooting. City officials this week unveiled a $1.325 million settlement of the Childs family's civil-rights claim against the city. Turney shot and killed Childs after the teen walked toward him and failed to drop a knife. The settlement was announced roughly six weeks after the city suspended Turney for 10 months without pay because of the shooting and other issues. City officials ruled that Turney erred not in shooting Childs but in failing to stop the situation from reaching that point. The payment to the Childs family will come out of a $6.63 million fund the city reserved this year for legal settlements and judgments. In January, Hickenlooper assembled a 38-member task force to recommend changes to police use-of-force policies and citizen oversight of the department. The panel's reports are expected to arrive in Hickenlooper's office next week. If Hickenlooper's team made a misstep, it would be underestimating the backlash from rank-and-file police over Turney's suspension, some say. Police at several rallies have chided "Chickenlooper" for what they say is a politically motivated suspension of Turney. As well, officers stormed out of the final meeting of a police-reform task force this month. Joe Sandoval, a task force member and head of the criminology department at Metropolitan State College of Denver, said the mayor likely had not anticipated the clout and will of the Police Protective Association. The PPA union represents most of Denver's officers. "I don't think he quite understood the dynamics within the city as to how the police and the city administration relate," Sandoval said. "I don't think he was quite ready for what he got with the PPA." In addition, the extent of adversarial relationships between some communities and the police force might have caught Hickenlooper by surprise. "I think he's learned quite a bit in terms of the deep sentiment of folks in the community and how they have this sense of distrust toward the police," Sandoval said. "Whether it's justified or not, I don't think he quite understood the breadth and depth of that mistrust." Leaders in minority communities are happier with Hickenlooper now than are the police. Some contend Turney should have been fired, but few, if any, object to the mayor's comprehensive response. "I think they came out of it pretty well," said state Sen. Peter Groff, whose district includes minority neighborhoods in north Denver. "They did something the previous administrations had never done, which showed you the gravity of the situation. I'm encouraged that they are going to be looking at reforms." Another political observer, consultant Steve Welchert, said Hickenlooper acted quickly without rushing to judgment. "He took abuse on both sides with respect to his decision on the cop," Welchert said. "You weren't going to find a resolution to that one that was going to make everyone satisfied." Staff writer Kris Hudson can be reached at khudson@denverpost.com . |