The Denver Post
Turney appeal says suspension violates rights
Saturday, April 24, 2004 -
Suspended Denver police officer James Turney filed an appeal Friday to overturn his discipline, saying his constitutional rights have been violated, among other claims.
The 10-month suspension, handed down April 15 by Denver Manager of Safety Al LaCabe, denies Turney "his right of equal protection" and "due process in violation of the constitutions of the United States and of the state of Colorado," according to his appeal filed with the Denver Civil Service Commission. Turney was suspended without pay for the July shooting death of Paul Childs, a developmentally disabled 15-year-old who was wielding a knife, and for allegedly threatening his mother-in-law in a long-distance telephone call to her in Iowa the day before the shooting. Iowa prosecutors dropped a misdemeanor harassment charge against Turney in January. In the appeal, Turney, through attorney Douglas Jewell, said the discipline is too severe because it is "disproportionate in comparison to policy violations by other members of the Denver Police Department under similar circumstances." This portion of the appeal involves the city's "comparative discipline" rule, a provision in the city charter whereby an officer's punishment can't be worse than the penalty given another officer for a similar offense in the past three years. Several City Council members have said they want to change this provision. Turney's appeal also claims his "discipline is both vague and overly broad inasmuch as it purports to impose a single penalty for multiple alleged violations occurring in two separate and distinct cases." LaCabe also ruled that Turney be limited to a desk job when the suspension is over. Such a "disciplinary assignment" is beyond LaCabe's powers and contrary to the Denver city charter, the appeal said. The appeal states that "actions' taken by Turney during the fatal shooting "were undertaken in good faith and were performed in conformity with the training" he received from the Denver Police Department. Turney, who joined the force in 1998, shot Paul Childs after the boy's family called police when the teen began wielding a kitchen knife with an 8 1/2-inch blade in their home at 5550 E. Thrill Place. When officers arrived, Turney ordered Childs to step out from behind a security door as Turney held the door open. LaCabe, in ruling on the suspension, said that if Turney had closed the security door, he would have contained the threat and given officers the ability to protect themselves and the Childs family.
"Such training deficiencies were the direct and sole cause of the discipline imposed," the appeal argues. LaCabe's decision fell short of the one-year suspension advocated by a group of black ministers who rallied behind the Childs family, but it was more severe than a 20-day suspension suggested by Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman. The appeal suggests that a hearing officer be "randomly selected" to review the disciplinary action and that LaCabe's order "be vacated and held for naught." Turney's supporters, including the police union, have set up a fund to support him financially while he is out of work. The Childs family, represented by lawyer Johnnie Cochran, has notified city officials it plans to sue for more than $5 million. |