October 17, 2003

As criminal investigations of police shootings go, the Paul Childs case was not a close call. We realize such a statement goes against so much of what you've heard and read during the past few months, but there's simply no other conclusion to draw if you inspect the entire 42-page report from District Attorney Bill Ritter. Given the recorded testimony of those who witnessed the shooting of the mentally impaired 15-year-old, there was no chance - none -that a jury would have convicted Officer James Turney of any criminal act.

We say this not in the resigned and cynical sense that juries are reluctant to convict cops no matter what the facts of the case may be. In the Childs shooting, the facts simply don't turn out to be as damning of police behavior as some critics have alleged.

Here's what we mean:

• Police didn't know Childs was mentally impaired. They were told he was "trying to stab" people, there was "extensive domestic violence" at the house and Childs was "angry." That sounds like a very dangerous situation. Their job clearly was to rush to the rescue of those inside the house who supposedly were threatened and who made the call.

• Of the eight witnesses to the events, all but one confirm Childs either was moving forward at the time he was shot or had been moving forward just before he was shot, and most agree he was holding the knife upright rather than in a passive position at his side.

• The shooting occurred literally seconds after police had cleared the house of the other visible occupants. In other words, police had no time to assess whether Childs was truly now alone in the house and whether they could fall back and adopt a more patient strategy before the teenager, clutching his knife, walked from behind the door to within a few feet of Turney, who then opened fire.

• Disarming Childs with the use of a Taser was not a practical option because of his proximity to the officers by the time he emerged in full sight.

Don't misunderstand: We're in no sense saying Childs "deserved" to be shot. He probably was not trying to stab people, in the first place. He'd had plenty of opportunity to do so and hadn't. But police can only go on what they are told. In retrospect, they could have retreated and saved Childs' life without putting anyone else at risk, but that is a call they would have had to make in seconds and sometimes it can backfire - such as when the man with the weapon really is out to hurt someone and the police retreat provides him with time to act.

Mayor John Hickenlooper said Thursday that his Department of Safety is investigating whether "police training policies and procedures were followed," which is of course the right thing to do. He owes it to the citizens of Denver to reveal that probe's conclusions, whether Turney or anyone else is disciplined, and what he expects from police in similar confrontations in the future.

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