By Kevin Vaughan, Rocky Mountain News
April 16, 2004

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, still enjoying a honeymoon nine months after taking office, faced perhaps the most perilous issue of his young political career Thursday when his administration handed down a 10-month suspension for a police officer who shot a disabled, knife-wielding teen-ager.

Time will tell what kind of political toll the case may have exacted on Hickenlooper, but several political observers believe that he successfully navigated a minefield with a decision that pleased no one but also may have avoided infuriating anyone.

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"It's hard to say without polling, but I can't imagine that this is going to be a major cliff he's about to go over in terms of public opinion," said Lori Weigel of Public Opinion Strategies. "Obviously, it was a terrible tragedy, and it deserves some sort of sense that it wasn't going to be overlooked."

The 10-month suspension for officer James Turney was far longer than the police union wanted, but stopped short of the firing that many community members sought.

Hickenlooper acknowledged the decision "probably makes no one happy."

"I think this is certainly the most emotional issue that we've had to face," he said when asked how difficult it had been for his administration. "My experience has often been that your emotions drive you in a direction, but you have to balance that with your intellect, with your thoughts. I think that that's what makes this such a challenge."

Denver political analyst Eric Sondermann said that Hickenlooper's popularity and the balance he struck between those who wanted no punishment and those who wanted Turney fired will help him weather the potential fallout of the decision.

"I think it is certainly one of the first issues he's confronted where there's really no political win in it," Sondermann said.

"That said, there are two thoughts. One, I think he's built up such a reservoir of good will that the vast majority of Denverites are going to give him every benefit of the doubt, so I don't think this decision is going to significantly affect that goodwill or his approval ratings," he said. "Secondly, this decision is substantial enough that it's not going to look like a whitewash or a slap on the wrist."

Michael Bennet, Hickenlooper's chief of staff, said there's no way to know how the decision will affect opinions about the mayor.

"This is one of those cases where the politics are just too complex to predict," Bennet said. "This may sound trite to say this, but you're left in the position where the best thing for the politics of it is to make the best decision you can."

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