By Robert Weller, Associated Press
October 16, 2003

A police officer will not face criminal charges for killing a developmentally disabled teen who held a knife as he stood in his doorway, a prosecutor said Thursday.

After a three-month investigation, District Attorney Bill Ritter said there was insufficient evidence to believe a jury would convict officer James Turney in the shooting of Paul Childs.

Turney believed Childs was a danger to others at the home and possibly to officers, Ritter said. "Our decision today is we cannot go forward with a criminal prosecution," Ritter said.

"The last thing the officers hear as they are arriving is that there is a person inside the home trying to stab the complainant," said Ritter. "Turney had a reasonable belief that he was in imminent danger."

Representatives of the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance feared Ritter's decision would further enrage members of the black community where Childs lived.

"To have that death explained away in such clinical, legal terms is painful," said the Rev. Reginald Holmes, alliance president. "At some point, there is going to be a major problem in the city."

Mark Silverstein, legal director of the Colorado chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said he hoped Police Chief Gerry Whitman would take some action.

"I would emphasize that the DA's decision not to file criminal charges does not clear or exonerate an officer," Silverstein said.

Whitman was to comment later Thursday on the shooting and Turney's status.

It was the second time prosecutors have cleared Turney in the fatal shooting of a teen in the same neighborhood. In the earlier case, Turney was one of two officers who shot a partially deaf 18-year-old.

Childs, 15, was shot four times July 5 after his family called 911 and said the boy was threatening his mother with a knife. Turney said the boy refused to drop the knife.

The shooting angered residents and members of the Childs family, who hired Los Angeles lawyer Johnnie Cochran to represent them.

Tim Rastello, a Denver lawyer working with Cochran, has said the family would consider a lawsuit after hearing the results of the criminal investigation. He did not return a call seeking comment Thursday.

Civil rights groups, including the ACLU, have called for an independent investigation. U.S. Attorney John Suthers has promised to review Ritter's findings.

Three days after the shooting Turney was suspended for allegedly threatening his mother-in-law on July 4. She alleged he telephoned her and told her he would "put a bullet through the middle" of her head.

Iowa authorities said they were awaiting the outcome of the Denver investigation before pursuing charges against Turney.

Ritter said he could not comment on the Page County, Iowa, case. Ritter said he did not believe that case affected Turney's judgment in the shooting of Childs.

In the 2002 case, Turney and another officer shot 18-year-old Gregory Smith after he pulled out a pocket knife. No charges were filed.

Copyright 2003, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.