The Denver Post

Metro briefs
Police say mayor stonewalling them

Sunday, May 02, 2004 - After a tense meeting with Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper on Friday, police officers said they were stonewalled about a fellow officer's punishment for fatally shooting a mentally disabled boy.

"They're not answering questions," said police officer Melinda Carney, who left early from the closed-door meeting at the Police Protection Association headquarters in west Denver. "I'm leaving because I've had enough."

She said Denver Manager of Safety Al LaCabe said he could not comment about suspending officer James Turney because of pending litigation.

On April 15, LaCabe suspended Turney for 10 months without pay for the July shooting death of Paul Childs, a developmentally disabled 15-year-old.

LaCabe declined to comment after the meeting.

"They're not very happy with me right now, and they're really not happy with Safety Manager LaCabe," Hickenlooper said after the meeting. "There is a lot of pent-up frustration."

Hickenlooper said he was only advised and not consulted about LaCabe's decision on Turney's punishment. But he said he has confidence in LaCabe's judgment.

The Friday meeting was called because Hickenlooper was at another meeting when 450 police officers held a rally April 19 outside city hall in protest of Turney's punishment. At the time, union leaders presented Hickenlooper's staff with a letter that said officers were concerned they could be similarly disciplined for correctly handling a confrontation.

Qwest retirees want say on exec benefits

Qwest shareholders should have a vote on costly, special pension benefits for senior executives such as the $12.1 million guaranteed chief executive Richard Notebaert, a Qwest retirees group said.

The Association of U.S. West Retirees has included the proposal in a proxy distributed to shareholders recently that describes matters stockholders will vote on at Qwest's May 25 annual meeting in Denver.

Qwest spokesman Steve Hammack provided an e-mailed response to the proposal that the company included in the proxy when asked for a comment: "In order to attract, retain and reward executives in a competitive business environment, it is critical that Qwest retain the flexibility to design, without delay, employment arrangements that address the specific facts and circumstances of each executive's situation."

The change would only affect compensation packages the company will grant in the future.

Jewish panel honors Hickenlooper

The American Jewish Committee awarded Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper its 2004 National Human Relations Award on Thursday, which goes to people and companies that preserve democracy.

Feds get extra time on Qwest retrial

A federal judge has granted the government additional time to consider whether to retry two former Qwest executives whose fraud and conspiracy trial ended with a deadlocked jury.

Prosecutors were scheduled to announce their decision at a hearing Friday, but U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn rescheduled the hearing for May 14 after William Leone, first assistant U.S. attorney, asked for more time.

At issue is whether prosecutors will retry Grant P. Graham, a former Qwest senior vice president of finance, and Thomas W. Hall, a former senior vice president of sales.

Leone said he wanted to continue discussions with defense attorneys. He didn't reveal whether those talks have been about a possible plea bargain.