Linda McConnell © News Denver City Attorney Cole Finegan announces a deal with the family of Paul Childs, 15, a developmentally disabled youth who was shot and killed by police officer James Turney last July while wielding a knife. "This settlement treats both the city and the Childs family fairly and allows all of us to move forward," Finegan said.

$1.3 million needs council OK in teen's killing by police

By April M. Washington And Javier Erik Olvera, Rocky Mountain News
May 26, 2004

Denver officials announced Tuesday the city will pay more than $1.3 million to the family of Paul Childs, hoping to bring closure to the police shooting death of the developmentally disabled teen.

The unusual decision to settle before the family filed a civil rights lawsuit comes a little more than a month before the first anniversary of the 15-year-old's death.

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The sum ranks as the second-largest payout involving police conduct in the city's history, behind the $3.5 million paid to a woman whose son was hit by a police car that sped through a red light.

"We believe we have reached a settlement that is fair and in the city's best interests," City Attorney Cole Finegan said. "This settlement treats both the city and the Childs family fairly and allows all of us to move forward."

Finegan said the city risked a bigger payout if the case went to a jury. But the head of the police union and at least one City Council member disagreed, saying the officer acted properly because Childs was armed with a knife.

The settlement is the latest chapter in a shooting that touched off wide-ranging and intense reactions that likely will be felt well into the future.

Community activists organized rallies and marches to denounce the shooting and demand reforms. Hundreds of police officers and supporters lined the steps of Denver's City and County Building to protest the suspension of the officer who shot Childs.

The fallout didn't stop there. The shooting prompted Mayor John Hickenlooper to roll out what he called the "most comprehensive package" of police reforms in Denver's history. And there might be more to come: perhaps a change in the way officers are disciplined and a new form of police civilian oversight.

The settlement requires the blessing of the City Council, which will review it Tuesday, but final approval isn't expected until June 7.

While the agreement, hashed out during the past four months, does not place blame on anyone, the family's attorney says the city's willingness to negotiate speaks volumes.

"It's obviously a sign that what happened that day could have been avoided," said attorney Timothy Rastello, who represented the family along with well-known defense attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr.

The boy's family declined to comment, saying through their pastor that they didn't want to affect or compromise the council's decision, which they expect will favor the deal.

The Rev. Paul Martin said the family is "happy" with the settlement, and he believes it will help put behind them the most tragic chapter in their lives that began when Paul Childs was shot inside his house on July 5.

His older sister, Ashley, had called 911 that day because he had threatened their mother, Helen Childs, with a 13-inch kitchen knife. Moments later, police officer James Turney arrived.

He demanded that Paul drop the knife. When Paul didn't, Turney fired four times, killing the boy in front of his family.

Last month, Manager of Safety Al LaCabe meted out a 10-month suspension without pay to Turney for the shooting.

"It's such a controversial issue that I think it's something that we best put behind us," LaCabe said. "Now we move forward . . . without this being held over our heads."

He said the administration will focus on addressing police morale.

Police Sgt. Mike Mosco, president of the Denver Police Protective Association, denounced the settlement as not in the best interest of the city. He contended that Turney acted appropriately.

"Oftentimes, city leaders make settlement decisions concerning lawsuits based on the financial considerations such as what are our legal fees going to be, rather than the merits of the case," Mosco said.

Both sides began mediation in early May, after reviewing other cases involving police and knife-wielding suspects in California, New Mexico and Ohio.

Former District Judge Richard Dana, a mediator with the Judicial Arbiter Group, helped facilitate the settlement, which both parties said took hundreds of hours.

The terms release the city from further liability.

A $726,115 check will be payable to Helen Childs and her attorneys, Holland & Hart LLP law firm.

Annuities also will be established for Helen and Ashley Childs. Beginning Aug. 1, Helen Childs will receive a monthly payment of $3,783.72 for the next 20 years.

Starting in June 2005, Ashley will receive $5,000 per year through June 5, 2008, according to the seven-page settlement reached Tuesday morning.

Ten of the 12 City Council members reached Tuesday said they would approve the settlement, calling it a fair deal for both the city and the Childs' family.

Councilwoman Judy Montero declined to say how she would vote, and Councilwoman Jeanne Robb could not be reached for comment.

Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz said she would oppose the settlement.

"I do not believe a monetary award is appropriate," Faatz said. "You had a person holding a deadly weapon, and threatened use of deadly weapon. I'm not sure any police officer would have acted differently."

City Council President Elbra Wedgeworth and Councilman Rick Garcia, co-sponsors of a police reform resolution passed by the council this fall, said the settlement, coupled with changes under way in the Police Department, sends a clear message that it's time for the community to heal and move forward.

"There hasn't been a day or evening I haven't had to live with this since the shooting happened," Wedgeworth said. "This child's death doesn't leave you in a month or eight months. It's my hope that this will help the community move forward."

Council members Rosemary Rodriguez and Doug Linkhart praised Hickenlooper's administration for attempting to resolve the matter before the anniversary of the Childs' shooting.

Councilman Charlie Brown said settling the case makes sense because it avoids trial costs and, most important, defuses what he worries could be the circuslike media sideshow that would follow Cochran, who defended O.J. Simpson.

"The cops will say, 'Why are we paying a settlement at all?' " Brown said. "I don't like gambling with taxpayer money."

The Greater Metro Ministerial Alliance - a group of black church leaders - was among the first to step up, urging the Police Department to revamp its community oversight and use-of-force policies.

The Rev. Reginald Holmes, the alliance's president, didn't want to speak about the settlement, saying that it was a family decision.

The settlement

$726,115 Paid to Helen Childs, mother of Paul Childs, and to Holland & Hart, attorneys for the Childs family

$3,783.72 Paid each month to Helen Childs, beginning Aug. 1 through July 1, 2024

$5,000 Paid to Ashley Childs, sister of Paul Childs, each year beginning June 5, 2005, through June 5, 2008

What's next The settlement requires approval by the Denver City Council:

• First reading of a bill to approve the settlement will be on Tuesday.

• Second reading and final council vote is set for June 7.

Denver's biggest payouts Here are the costliest payments - excluding those related to airport noise - made by the city.

• $3.5 million to the family of Randy Bartel in 2002, a 22-year-old college student killed in June 1989 when an officer ran a red light at 65 mph.

• $1.2 million to DeShawn Hollis in 2001, who was 12 years old in January 1998 when he was shot and paralyzed by an officer.

• $822,500 to Clinton Brown in 2001, shot and wounded by an off-duty officer after a traffic altercation in December 1994.

• $643,000 to three women in 2003 who were groped and sexually assaulted in 1997 by officer Daniel Pollack.

• $480,000 to the family of Leonard Zuchel in 1993, who was killed in a 1985 confrontation with an officer who thought he had a knife. • $400,000to the family of Ismael Mena in 2000, who was shot and killed in September 1999 in a confrontation with a Denver SWAT team after officers were sent to the wrong home on a no-knock drug raid.

Staff writer Hector Gutierrez contributed to this report.

Copyright 2004, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.