The Denver Postsusan barnes-gelt
Turney storm brewing
Thursday, March 11, 2004 -
Mayor John Hickenlooper is preparing for his first major blizzard, and a phalanx of snowplows won't protect him from the storm.
The fate of Denver Police Officer James Turney is in the hands of Chief Gerry Whitman and Manager of Safety Al LaCabe, both Hickenlooper appointees. Turney fired the shot that killed developmentally disabled and legally blind teenager Paul Childs last July 5. The six-member Discipline Review Board investigated the shooting. Last week, it upheld a charge of "using an inappropriate level of force in a high-profile incident." However, its recommendation to place a letter of reprimand in Turney's file was called "a travesty of justice" by the Rev. Dr. Paul Martin of the Macedonia Baptist Church, and worse by less articulate activists. Some hoped the addition of two civilians to the board would lead to stronger disciplinary recommendations - particularly because the review board was not constrained by comparable discipline in reviewing the Turney case. In short, the review board could have recommended anything from no action to dismissal. Even the Firearm Discharge Review Board - made up of Turney's commander and the department's division chiefs - went a bit further than the Discipline Review Board. It recommended a 30-day suspension - no pay, no benefits - for Turney. The officer had also been involved in the January 2002 fatal shooting of Gregory Smith Jr., a young, deaf man. Now it's up to Whitman and LaCabe. Whitman has until next Wednesday to accept or reject the Discipline Review Board's recommendation. Then LaCabe will review Whitman's recommendation. A veteran police officer commenting on the challenge facing Whitman said, "There are no winners here." If Whitman calls for Turney to surrender his badge, it will "foment rebellion." The president of the Police Protective Association, Sgt. Mike Mosco, is on record saying any sanction against Turney is too strong. Other officers, tired of the department being dragged through the muck because of a string of excessive-force cases, might welcome tough consequences. In January, Hickenlooper convened a 38-member task force charged with reviewing police policy on the use of force. The panel of community members, city officials and law-enforcement representatives is expected to make recommendations in early April. Rev. Martin says Turney must be terminated. "There is too much evidence of the inability of our city's leadership to meet their obligations to the community." Martin believes the mayor's decision to reappoint Whitman signaled a firm commitment to changing the culture of Denver's police department. According to Martin, the mayor's task force and broad police reform initiatives ring hollow if Turney is not dismissed. Councilman Michael Hancock, former president of the Urban League of Metropolitan Denver, agrees. Hancock says the evidence demonstrates that Turney's state of mind was such that "Paul Childs could have had a popsicle stick in his hand and he'd be dead today. Turney must be taken off the payroll." City Council President Elbra Wedgeworth, who represents the district where both Childs and Smith were killed, concurs: "Turney's got to go." In a perfect world, Whitman would review the facts and make an objective decision, removed from the politics of the department, the community and city hall. Whitman already has earned the ire of the union's leadership. Last summer, its executive board urged the mayor not to reappoint the chief. Whitman is a reformer in a department uncomfortable with change. Firing Turney would make it tough for him to continue to lead. Maybe LaCabe and Whitman should try the classic television crime show routine: good cop-bad cop. Whitman could uphold the Discipline Review Board's recommendation, avoid a showdown with the force and continue his efforts at reform. LaCabe could fire Turney and demonstrate that the administration is going to walk its talk. The skies may be sunny and clear. But count on it: There's a big storm brewing. Denver native and civic activist Susan Barnes-Gelt served eight years on the Denver City Council and was an aide to former Denver Mayor Federico Peņa. Her column appears on alternate Wednesdays. |