Former mom-in-law submitted complaint

By Sarah Langbein, Rocky Mountain News
October 21, 2004

The Denver police officer whose actions led to major departmental reforms - some of which will be decided by the Nov. 2 ballot - flatly denied one of the charges against him Wednesday in his first public statement.

Officer James Turney, testifying during the second day of a hearing in which he is appealing his 10-month suspension, denied that he had threatened to shoot his former mother-in law, Rozella Orme. But he admitted using improper language after Orme had written him a letter accusing him of being a bad father.

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"I informed her that the letters had to stop," Turney said. "And if I found out that she was putting lies or garbage in my son's head, I'd take her fat (expletives) to court. I never made a threat to Ms. Orme."

Orme testified Tuesday that Turney, during a July 4, 2003, phone conversation, said he would put a bullet through her head.

The 30-year-old officer was suspended in April by Manager of Safety Al LaCabe for allegedly threatening Orme and for the July 5, 2003, shooting of Paul Childs, a developmentally disabled teen who was wielding a knife.

Turney's 10-month suspension without pay was appealed by his lawyers who say LaCabe's decision was arbitrary and unlawful.

Turney appeared calm and collected in his brief testimony Wednesday. He said his relationship with Orme, who watches his 10-year-old son three days a week, was never ideal and that she had always questioned his parenting skills, often writing him letters.

Turney testified that he received a letter from Orme on July 3, 2003, but waited until the following day to read it because he knew it was more of the same.

One hour after reporting for duty, Turney said he sat in his parked patrol car and read the note. He said he let it sink in and then thought of what he was going to say to Orme. He picked up the phone and called Orme at her home.

"I felt better," he said, referring to the call. "Well, for once I was able to tell her to stop."

On July 7, 2003, while on administrative leave for the deadly shooting of Childs, Turney said he was notified of a complaint against him and given a no-contact order for Orme.

He testified that he was surprised because "I did not threaten her."

City attorneys also questioned Turney about the nearly 2 1/2 hours he spent making personal phone calls on July 4, 2003. Turney admitted that it was unprofessional to do that while on duty.

Most of Wednesday's testimony, however, dealt with the details of Turney's police academy training in 1998. Two training officers were questioned at length about officer survival and tactics.

Both testified that they can't teach specifics but they do teach options for possible scenarios.

At the heart of the questioning was whether Turney committed tactical errors that put him in harm's way and forced a deadly situation in the Childs shooting.

In his suspension of Turney, LaCabe said the officer should have shut the door leading to the boy's home and backed away once he determined there was no one other than the teen inside.

Turney's lawyer, Doug Jewell, quoted statistics of fatal police shootings when suspects were holding knives, similar to the Childs situation. Jewell asked Technician Robert Rathburn, an academy instructor, if he was shocked that in 25 out of 28 of those shootings that police officers put themselves in harm's way, and that in 19 cases, the officer did not retreat.

"That's the problem with tactics," Rathburn replied to the line of questioning. "There aren't yes/no answers for the most part."

Turney's testimony will continue today, when lawyers are expected to question him about the Childs shooting.

langbeins@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2536

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