Mom relives 'day that never should have happened'

By Javier Erik Olvera, Rocky Mountain News
April 16, 2004

Helen Childs sat quietly on her porch - a quivering hand holding the telephone - as Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper told her Thursday that the police officer who killed her 15-year-old developmentally disabled son would be suspended for 10 months.

For a moment, Childs - who had waited for the brief conversation much of the morning - said nothing, eyes looking down at the floor and then up at passersby as tears began to puddle on her cheeks.

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"It's a little bit of relief," she said. She had wanted officer James Turney fired for the July 5, 2003, shooting death of her son, Paul Childs. "At least this is some recognition."

Reactions were mixed as news spread across the city to community members who had demanded Turney's firing in the months following the shooting.

Many said the decision made by Al LaCabe, manager of safety, and supported by Hickenlooper, was a positive sign, but not what they sought.

The Rev. Reginald Holmes, president of the Greater Metro Ministerial Alliance, has taken the lead in the community's push for an overhaul in the police department's use-of-force policies.

While the suspension is close to the alliance's request that Turney be suspended for a full year without pay, Holmes said it doesn't go far enough.

"Our fight is just beginning," he said, adding that the alliance will take part in a rally at 1 p.m. Sunday in City Park to advocate for policy changes.

Leroy Lemos, an activist and vocal advocate for Turney's firing, was stunned to brief silence when he heard LaCabe's decision.

"Wow," he said 10 seconds after he heard the news. "My initial reaction would have to be shock and I would have to commend Al LaCabe for stepping forward and even exerting this small amount of discipline."

Lemos said another community rally will be held at 5:30 p.m. today near District 2 police headquarters at 34th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard.

Police supporters, on the other hand, questioned LaCabe's decision. "How can (Al) LaCabe say, 'the shooting was justified,' yet in the next breath levy such extreme punishment?" asked community advocate Lisa Dobson. "It's contradictory."

Thrill Place is a quiet street, lined by modest brick bungalows and tall trees in the chunk of the city's Park Hill neighborhood that sits east of Colorado Boulevard.

Two wilting pink roses lay on the front porch of Childs' home in the 5500 block, where someone left them last week after they prayed outside the house where the boy was shot.

A bullet hole punched in the living room wall is a reminder of the day that Paul Childs' sister, Ashley, sometimes says was her fault. She had dialed 911 to tell police that Paul had threatened their mother with a knife.

Helen Childs tells her daughter that she isn't to blame because there was no way to predict the boy would die.

"I dream about it every night," Helen Childs said. "I don't think anything will help me sleep. All I think about is that day. A day that never should have happened."

Every day has been tough, she said, but April 27th will be the toughest yet. That would have been her son's 16th birthday, she said.

Thursday afternoon, after a series of phone calls from family, friends and media, Helen Childs stood on her front lawn with her brother, Michael Thompson, and attorney Timothy Rastello for a news conference.

"The family feels particularly relieved," said Rastello, part of a legal team that includes famed attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr. "Today's action is the first step in the long road to justice."

The Childs family and their legal team filed a notice with the city three months ago of their intent to push for reforms in police department procedures and ask for at least $5 million in damages.

If they can't reach a settlement, they will file a federal lawsuit alleging civil rights violations, they have said.

olveraj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5113

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