The Denver Post
Punishment in Childs case a 'no-win' test for mayor
Wednesday, April 14, 2004 -
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's administration faces its toughest political test yet this week.
One of the mayor's top aides will decide the punishment of a police officer who shot and killed a knife-wielding, developmentally disabled African-American teenager. "It's his first real political test, and it's obviously a no-win," City Councilman Charlie Brown said. The punishment is the latest flash point in a case that has roiled relations between Denver's African-American community and the police department, between the mayor's office and the City Council, between city attorneys and civil-rights activists. Hickenlooper and Manager of Safety Al LaCabe are being squeezed from all sides. The penny-pinching mayor who scrubbed the red ink out of the city budget could trigger multimillion-dollar lawsuits against the city. The city's first non-Hispanic white mayor in two decades could lose key support from the black voters who backed him. The deal-making mayor who persuaded firefighters and sheriff's deputies to make wage and benefits concessions could stir further unrest in a police department that has rejected a similar request. Black leaders have threatened "nonviolent civil disobedience" if the punishment isn't tough enough. Some political leaders fear that police officers will call in sick with the "blue flu" to protest a stiffer penalty. Finding a solution is not as easy as finding a compromise between the warring political parties. Penfield Tate, an African-American lawyer and former state senator, said Hickenlooper may have to abandon the strategy that has worked so winningly since he took office. "Sometimes the middle ground is not the right ground," Tate said. "Sometimes you can't please everyone, nor should you. You should do what's right." Earlier this month, Police Chief Gerry Whitman recommended a 20-day suspension for officer James Turney, who shot and killed 15-year-old Paul Childs at the boy's northeast Denver home last July, less than a month before Hickenlooper took office. LaCabe, who reports to Hickenlooper, is reviewing that recommendation. He can choose any or no punishment for Turney, from termination to full reinstatement. His decision is due by Friday. LaCabe cannot comment about the matter before issuing his decision, said the mayor's spokeswoman, Lindy Eichenbaum Lent. Michael Bennet, Hickenlooper's chief of staff, hedged when asked if the mayor has told LaCabe how to decide. Instead, Bennet said, LaCabe has kept the mayor informed about his deliberations. His decision can be appealed by Turney to the city's Civil Service Commission, and later to the courts. The punishment decision comes less than two weeks before a special mayoral task force that was convened in January releases its recommendations on how the city should deal with future cases of lethal force by police. "At the end of the day, our goal is to have a system where the community feels safe and protected and the police officers feel safe," Lent said. But right now, a key member of Hickenlooper's ace team of dealmakers stands face to face with a group of people who cannot see eye to eye. Hickenlooper has worked hard from the sidelines to set the stage for the decision. In the midst of the Turney investigation, Hickenlooper convened the task force to review the proper way to handle future cases of police use of force. At the same time, the mayor pushed a set of police-department reforms that would encourage officers to avoid fatal shootings. Those reforms range from buying 100 additional Tasers, which are weapons that stun with an electric shock, to increasing training for crisis intervention. The question of Turney's punishment has divided the city and has shifted the focus of an administration that has made budget-cutting and job-creation its top priorities. Hickenlooper's team now must venture into an emotional debate about race and social justice, police and public safety. The leader of the police union calls the chief's recommended 20- day suspension of Turney too much. The head of an influential group of black ministers says the officer should be suspended for a year without pay. The president of the Denver City Council said Turney should be fired. "What's at stake is what will happen in the future," council president Elbra Wedgeworth said. "I understand what an important decision it is for the mayor's administration, but it's a decision that's important for Denver." Wedgeworth said the unpunished shootings of the past hang over the decision in the Turney case. In fact, Turney and his partner were previously cleared for the January 2002 shooting of a hearing-impaired 18-year-old in his mother's northeast Denver home. "The community has never healed from previous incidents," Wedgeworth said. "A decision has to be made in this case and we have to heal the community." She called for Turney's dismissal from the police force, citing the Childs family's desire. After the shooting, celebrity lawyer Johnnie Cochran's firm agreed to represent the Childs family. Earlier this year, the family notified the city of its plans to sue for more than $5 million. Rev. Reginald Holmes, president of the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance, said his group has called for a one-year suspension without pay and called for protests if the penalty falls short. "We can't judge by this one thing," Homes said, "but the mayor needs to know that we are passionate about this and there will be repercussions." Last summer, Hickenlooper won a majority of votes in Denver's predominantly black neighborhoods, dissolving a traditional coalition between African-American and Hispanic voters that has helped elect citywide leaders. Hickenlooper's relationship with the police force will also be tested by how he handles the Turney case. Last year, unionized police officers opposed the hiring of Whitman as chief, and they refused to take pay cuts to help the city balance its budget. Sgt. Mike Mosco, president of the Police Protective Association, said he thinks Turney should not face any penalty for doing his job. "We feel that the recommendation is wrong," Mosco said. But "we would never condone any form of work slowdown. We don't work for Mayor Hickenlooper. We work for you and everybody else in the city of Denver." The union has taken an adversarial stance regarding Hickenlooper's task force, which is set to release its recommendations on April 28. Tate, who became a close adviser to Hickenlooper after losing to him in the mayor's race, said he believes the city must alter the way it handles such cases. "This may be the case that topples people over the edge," Tate said. "It can't be a token measure. It must be something significant. "The changes need to bring transparency and accountability to the process," Tate said. "And the process needs to move much more rapidly. It's been eight months since Paul Childs died. That's disgraceful." |