Hearing officer said discipline incorrect in Childs shooting

By Sarah Langbein, Rocky Mountain News
January 21, 2005

The Denver City Attorney's Office waited just a week before announcing it would fight a ruling that reversed Officer James Turney's discipline in the 2003 fatal shooting of a developmentally disabled teen.

City Attorney Cole Finegan said he will contest Hearing Officer John Criswell's decision to overturn Turney's 10-month suspension - the most severe penalty leveled against a Denver police officer involved in a shooting in the past decade.

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Criswell ruled Jan. 13 to reduce Turney's suspension to five days and a one-day fine for threats made to his ex-mother-in-law. He eliminated the suspension handed down in April by Manager of Safety Al LaCabe for the July 5, 2003, shooting of 15-year-old Paul Childs, saying that LaCabe's decision to punish the officer relied on a department policy that wasn't applicable to the case.

"We strongly believe that the hearing officer erroneously interpreted departmental and civil service rules in reaching his decision, and we also believe that his decision involves policy considerations that reverberate far beyond the Turney case," Finegan said in a written statement.

Finegan plans to file a notice of appeal with the Civil Service Commission and District Court by next Friday. Turney's lawyer, Doug Jewell, called the city's decision political, adding that Criswell's ruling was based on facts, training, policy and law.

"From the beginning of this case we have said that officer Turney reacted reasonably and according to training provided to him by this city," Jewell said. "While the city certainly has the right to appeal, we thought it made sense to move forward from here with the city's new use-of-force policies and expectations rather than going back some more. . . . I do fear that appeal in this particular case is a continuation of the city being heavy on politics and light on the applicable law, department policy and training, and the actual facts of this case."

In October, Criswell presided over Turney's appeal in a two-week hearing that detailed an alleged phone threat made to his former mother-in-law on July 4, 2003, and the Childs shooting the following day. On Jan. 13, he issued a 46-page decision letter that broke the alleged violations apart. He found that violations stemming from the phone threat should be sustained but that the discipline stemming from the shooting was not merited.

City Council President Elbra Wedgeworth said Criswell's decision underscores the importance of a thorough, independent review of police department training and policies. Turney and three other officers were called to the Childs home on a 911 call that said Paul Childs was threatening his mother with a knife.

Police said they repeatedly told the 15-year-old to drop the knife. Manager LaCabe in April said Turney should have shut the security door to separate himself from the knife-wielding teen.

What's next

• Both sides have at least 120 days to file transcripts and briefs on the appeal.

• The Denver Civil Service Commission will decide whether to review the case.

• The commission's decision can then be appealed to district court.

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