Ahmad Terry © News Helen Childs wipes tears from her eyes moments after taking a phone call from Mayor John Hickenlooper, who informed her of the city's decision to suspend the police officer who shot and killed her 15-year-old son, Paul. After months of waiting, Helen Childs called the decision "a little bit of relief."

Officer who killed teen gets 10 months off-duty without pay

By Sarah Huntley, Erik Javier Olvera And Brian D. Crecente, Rocky Mountain News
April 16, 2004

A Denver police officer who killed a developmentally disabled teen armed with a knife last summer will be suspended for 10 months without pay as a result of a decision that could chart a new course in the city's review of police shootings.

Manager of Safety Al LaCabe said the discipline - far more severe than the 20-day suspension recommended by the police chief earlier this month - reflects concerns about officer James Turney's judgment in the minutes leading up to the July 5 shooting of Paul Childs.

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The officer should have shut the door leading to the boy's home and backed away once he determined there were no other citizens inside, LaCabe said.

"The barrier between Mr. Childs and everyone else was formidable. It could have been increased substantially without exposing the officers to harm by simply closing the security door," LaCabe wrote in a decision released Thursday. "By containing the threat, officers would have had the time, distance and barriers necessary to interact with the family and gain more information to determine how to proceed."

LaCabe said that Turney was justified under the department's use-of-force policy to shoot Childs once the teen was standing 6 or 7 feet from him with a knife.

"If you stand on that porch and know that situation, you understand that it was a reasonable response," LaCabe said of Turney's decision to fire his weapon.

But he said the officer committed tactical errors that put him in harm's way and "raised an almost inevitable question of deadly force."

Turney, 30, has been under intense public scrutiny since the shooting, which occurred after he and two other officers went to Childs' home at 5550 E. Thrill Place in North Park Hill.

Childs' sister had called 911 to say he was threatening their mother with a knife.

When officers arrived, the 15-year-old came to the door with the knife. Childs did not respond to police orders to drop the weapon, and Turney opened fire, shooting him four times. The other officers drew their Tasers, used to stun suspects, but didn't fire the weapons.

The fatal shooting was Turney's second since he joined the department in 1998. The first occurred on Jan. 30, 2002, when the officer and a sergeant shot and killed Gregory Smith Jr., 18, in Smith's mother's home. Smith, who was hearing-impaired, was armed with a pocketknife, which he refused to drop.

Smith's family had called police when the teen broke through his mother's back door after smashing her car window.

The Denver district attorney found that both fatal shootings were legally justified.

The suspension imposed by LaCabe on Thursday does not address the Smith shooting, which LaCabe said appeared to be within policy.

But the discipline does cover violations that stem from a threatening phone call Turney allegedly made to his former mother-in-law in Iowa the day before the Childs shooting.

LaCabe said Turney spent nearly 2 ½ hours on his personal cell phone while on duty July 4. At least one of the calls was to Rosella Orme, the mother of Turney's ex-wife, who told police the officer threatened to "put a bullet through the middle" of her head.

Turney faced a possible misdemeanor charge in connection with the call, but prosecutors in Iowa agreed not to pursue the case if the officer avoids contact with Orme for five years. Police Chief Gerry Whitman had recommended an additional five days without pay for that incident.

LaCabe called 10 months "substantial." Although it is not part of the formal discipline, Whitman has determined Turney will be assigned administrative duties if he returns to his job, rather than being allowed to patrol the streets, LaCabe said.

"A police officer is given awesome power and discretion and is expected to judiciously exercise such power and discretion," LaCabe said in his decision. "Yet Officer Turney exhibited poor judgment on both July 4 and 5, 2003. This poor judgment had profound and far-reaching consequences for which he must be severely disciplined."

LaCabe's decision exceeds the recommendations made by the chief and two internal police review boards. One of the boards had called for a 30-day suspension. The other had recommended a letter of reprimand.

Ten months without pay is the most severe penalty any Denver officer has received in connection with a shooting in the past decade. LaCabe said it is also the first time an officer has been been found to be in violation "in this manner."

The precedent-setting move is significant because the officer has the right to appeal LaCabe's decision to the Denver Civil Service Commission. A key argument in an appeal is likely to involve the "comparative discipline" rule in the city's charter.

The rule, designed to minimize the risk of arbitrary and unfair punishment, prevents city officials from punishing one officer more severely than those who committed similar offenses. Comparative discipline has resulted in punishment being overturned in previous cases.

Joseph Sandoval, a former police officer and current chairman of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Metropolitan State College of Denver, said LaCabe's decision to look at "the totality of the circumstances" is unheralded.

"It is fascinating the new ground that he seems to be plowing," Sandoval said. "He's not just considering the occurrence itself, he's looking at the time leading up to the situation."

Thursday's disclosure was also unprecedented. It was the first time a public letter was issued and a news conference held to explain the discipline of a Denver police officer involved in a shooting.

LaCabe said he felt compelled to explain his decision "as far as we can, under the law."

"This is something the community has not known for too long. It (the discipline process) has not been open. It has not been transparent," LaCabe said.

Community activists and the Childs family had called for Turney's termination.

"That's it?" Childs' sister, Ashley, 16, asked Thursday. "He should be in jail."

Leaders of the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance, a network of black churches, had said they would accept a one-year suspension. "It falls short of what we asked for, but it is certainly more than what was proposed by the chief," alliance President Reginald Holmes said.

At the same time, the penalty incensed officers, who said it could have a chilling effect when they respond to calls.

"It's just one more level of uncertainty the officers have to deal with," said Mike Mosco, Police Protective Association president. "We have to make a split-second decision, and people like the chief and the manager of safety have the luxury of being a Monday morning quarterback."

Whitman issued a brief statement after the announcement. "I respect Manager LaCabe's decision," he said. "The citizens of Denver can be assured that the Denver Police Department will continue to provide a high level of safety services to our citizens and the community."

City Council President Elbra Wedgeworth said she believes LaCabe made the best decision he could. She was pleased, she said, that the chief plans to assign Turney to desk duty.

"My community believes officer Turney is a danger and a threat, and so do I," she said. "Had Chief Whitman made any decision that would have kept Turney on the streets, I would have protested that decision with my whole heart and all my political abilities."

The Childs family's local attorney, Timothy Rastello, said they are waiting to see whether the city will settle its claim with family members, who are asking for an overhaul of police procedures and $5 million.

If there is no settlement, Rastello and celebrity attorney Johnnie Cochran, who joined the legal team immediately after the shooting, plan to file a civil-rights lawsuit.

Mayor John Hickenlooper said the city plans to move forward with reform efforts, including crisis-intervention training for more officers and the purchase of additional less-lethal weapons.

He said, "Our administration, our department of public safety, is committed to working harder and harder to make sure we have the safest possible community we can have."

crecenteb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2811

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