The Denver Post
Views split on cop's shooting of teen
Tuesday, October 26, 2004 -
Experts disagreed Monday on whether Denver police officer James Turney followed his training in the moments before he fatally shot a knife-wielding 15-year-old boy.
In a hearing, an expert hired by the city said Turney made a "fatal error" when he decided he needed to try immediately to arrest Paul Childs rather than back off. But another expert, testifying on Turney's behalf, said the officer acted as he was trained before he shot the teen. "In my expert opinion, his response was proper, justified," said David Grossi, a retired New York police lieutenant and a frequent consultant. The experts testified in a civil service hearing on Turney's appeal of his 10-month suspension for alleged procedural mistakes leading up to the July 5, 2003, shooting of the developmentally disabled Childs and an alleged telephone threat against his former mother-in- law a day earlier. The city is seeking to uphold the suspension against Turney, 30. On Monday, city attorneys presented Larry Danaher, safety and security director in Lafayette, Ind., and a frequent witness in police cases. Danaher said he reviewed the case file and went to the North Park Hill home where the shooting took place - and determined that Turney's tactics before the shooting "forced a confrontation." He said Turney "rushed" up to the front door. Danaher said the officer could have used a bush and a wall as cover, and should have consulted with the other officers. He said Turney could have "tactically disengaged" to calm the situation and allow another officer on the scene to use a Taser. Or Turney could have closed a security door to put a barrier between him and Childs, Danaher said, adding that the tactics used did not appear to follow Denver police training. "They were not reasonable. They were not safe for the officer himself or the other people involved," Danaher said. Yet Grossi countered that if Turney had closed the security door, it would have eliminated options such as the Taser. And backing up, Grossi said, is not a proper tactic when dealing with a knife. There was no time to confer with the other officers, he said, and there is "no ideal response" in such a rapidly evolving situation. "Somebody has to enter the fatal funnel," he said. "Police work is inherently dangerous." Staff writer Sean Kelly can be reached at 303-820-1858 or skelly@denverpost.com. |