October 18, 2003

Tragedy piles upon tragedy in the Paul Childs case.

When District Attorney Bill Ritter announced there would be no charges brought against the cop who shot and killed the 15-year-old Childs, it was hardly a surprise.

The law is clear. No jury would ever convict James Turney. In fact, under the law, no jury should convict him.

And yet.

It is instructive to read Ritter's report. Go to page 24, where Ashley Childs, who made the 911 call, is telling her story.

She called the police to report that Paul was threatening their mother with a knife. But it was also a call for help in dealing with her developmentally disabled brother. As we know, the Childs family called the police often to help deal with Paul, to provide services that cops aren't necessarily equipped to provide and to provide services the Childs family must have been unable to find elsewhere.

This time, Ashley was cut off by the 911 operator before she could talk about Paul's mental difficulties.

Soon after they arrived, the cops would be confronted with a "zoned-out" kid with a knife, with its blade turned up, walking slowly toward them. And Turney shot him four times - no one else fired - killing Paul Childs and setting off a firestorm of criticism.

Later, Ashley Childs would say of the shooting, which she watched from the yard, "I just couldn't understand why they did that. When like, you know, I watch Cops and stuff. Well, normally, they tackle somebody on the ground."

It's a tragically innocent view of the situation.

And, at the same time, it's directly to the point: How did this end in a death?

That question leads to even tougher questions.

Many of those who were angered by the shooting were upset because, in large part, they were unsurprised by the shooting.

The subtext here - or as one person put it, the elephant in the living room - is race.

Here's another view of the situation, as expressed by La Shon Hall, a neighbor of the Childs, who was quoted as saying: "What this says to the community is that it's OK for the police to come into their house and kill them."

We've heard calls for a Monday march, for a boycott.

We've heard pain and anger.

We listen as some in the black community suggest this shooting is consistent with how the Denver cops police their community, particularly as it pertains to young black males.

You don't have to agree with that perception to understand that it exists.

The police know it's there.

But there's more to be done than simply agreeing that the shooting was a tragedy.

There are panels at work to see if there are lessons to be taken from the case. Already, there are improvements being made in the 911 system. But there must be more than committees.

Of course, there is also an internal investigation of Turney. My guess is that, however you view the circumstances of the shooting, one outcome is inevitable, as inevitable as the civil suit and the million-dollar settlement to come.

You can call this the Turney Rule: Whether or not you're fired, you don't get put back on the street once you shoot and kill two developmentally disabled, knife-wielding teens within an 18-month period and you also just happen to be accused of threatening your mother-in-law.

That has to be the starting point for Denver police.

The question here, though, is bigger than Turney. And the anger you hear is bigger than Turney.

And that's why I was confused by the new mayor's caution in addressing the issue.

As the Ritter announcement came down Thursday, John Hickenlooper issued only a brief written statement.

A day later, he explained that he didn't address the issue in person because he didn't want to inflame an already volatile situation.

"When people have been hurt and their emotions are up, I don't want to fan the flames," he said.

He added: "To me there's a fine line between drawing attention to yourself and making a statement and letting there be some space around this thing."

Of course, the shooting didn't happen under Hickenloooper's watch. But he inherits the burden of resolving it as the city explores issues of community policing and community services. As an untested entity, Hickenlooper will be judged, in part, by how he responds.

People have been hurt, after all. Emotions are up.

And what people want to know, particularly from their mayor, is what can be done so that tragedy isn't piled upon further tragedy.

Mike Littwin's column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Call him at 303- 892-5428 or e-mail him at littwinm@RockyMountainNews.com.

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