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Denver Post
Shooting provokes outrage
Monday, July 07, 2003 - Community leaders and northeast Denver residents are outraged about the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old mentally disabled boy by a police officer who also was involved in a shooting last year.
Paul Childs was shot Saturday afternoon just inside the front door of his mother's Park Hill home. He was holding a kitchen knife at the time. Officers twice commanded Childs to drop the knife. He did not. His mother, Helen Childs, said Paul could not understand the commands. An autopsy completed Sunday showed Paul Childs died of multiple gunshot wounds. Leaders from several traditionally black churches plan to meet today and may publicly condemn the shooting. Some are questioning whether less-lethal force could have been used and if Childs had to die. "We are appalled and disgusted and disappointed," said Rev. James Peters Jr., pastor at New Hope Baptist Church. "We are very unhappy and think it was totally unnecessary." Family friend Beverly Trimble, who stopped by the home in the 5500 block of East Thrill Place, said she believes Paul was murdered. "That's what it was. This boy was murdered in his own home," she said. Police declined to comment Sunday on the shooting. Spokesman John White said the investigation is "ongoing" but would not discuss specifics. More information may be released today, he said. Four officers were on scene Saturday, and a supervisor arrived just as Childs was shot. One officer fired at least four shots, according to witnesses. Police had called for a Taser shot, but it never was used because an officer could not get a clear shot with the electric stun gun, according to one police official. The officer who fired, James Turney, was involved in a another fatal shooting last year. On Jan. 30, 2002, Turney and Sgt. Robert Silvas shot and killed an 18-year-old hearing- impaired man. Turney is "a very solid officer, a very good officer," District 2 Cmdr. Mike O'Neill said. "Nobody wants to be in this position of using deadly force," O'Neill said. "We are sworn to protect life. The last thing we want to do is take a life." Turney will be placed on paid leave for several days and must see a police psychologist before returning to work, O'Neill said. The Denver District Attorney's Office will review the shooting based on the police investigation. At the end of the review, District Attorney Bill Ritter either will clear Turney or charge him with a crime. Internal discipline also is a possibility. Turney was cleared by Ritter in the 2002 shooting. Police have a green light to shoot when a knife-wielding suspect is within 21 feet. O'Neill said he did not discuss specifics of the shooting with the officers. Another police official said, "It was like he had no choice. He was 4 to 6 feet from this kid." Childs, an East High School student, was well-known around the neighborhood. He wandered around, made friends quickly and had an innocent view of the world, said those who knew him. He would have been a sophomore this fall. His basketball coach and tutor, Mark Perlmutter, described Childs as "very smart, very bright." Speaking at a news conference, Perlmutter said Childs "just had the disability he had." At the same conference, Gerald Muhammad, a minister with the Nation of Islam, called the shooting murder and said, "I know that if they went into any other community they would have had negotiators to negotiate with this young man." Justin Nelson, 15, a neighbor and friend who stopped by the home Sunday, said, "Everybody in Park Hill knew Paul. Paul never caused any problems. Paul was a nice person. Paul wouldn't hurt a fly." Childs suffered from grand mal seizures and a number of developmental and learning disabilities. That is why his friends are so angry, Nelson said. "Everybody's upset with the police," Nelson said. "Nobody likes what they did." Neighbor Barbara Mills said Childs used to play with her 9-year-old son, Taylor. "I know people are upset," Mills said. "It seems like (officers') first instinct is to shoot." Childs often got rides home from police officers when he wandered too far from home. His mother and sister said he trusted police and considered them his friends. On Saturday, Childs made lunch and came out of the kitchen with a knife. A family friend called police, hoping officers could calm the teenager. Officers knew only what the dispatcher was told, White said, that Childs "was threatening" his mother with a knife. In the 2002 shooting involving Turney, Gregory Smith was shot six times by Turney and Silvas at his mother's northeast Denver house. After an argument with his mother, who called police, Smith had locked himself in his room. When he came out, he started up the stairs toward the two officers, who had arrived at his home. He reached down to his pant leg and pulled a knife. The officers repeatedly told Smith to stop and drop the knife. Police fired when Smith got within 5 feet of the officers, according to Ritter. Smith was one of two people to die from police gunfire in Denver in all of last year. In 2003, Paul Childs is the fifth. "We're not dealing with officers shooting to wound," Assistant District Attorney Chuck Lepley said. "They're trying to neutralize and control the situation as quickly as possible. The training is not to shoot knives or guns out of someone's hand or wing someone." Denver Post staff writer Marcos Mocine-McQueen and KUSA-Channel 9 News contributed to this report. DENVER POLICE DEADLY-FORCE POLICY Officers should follow state law when using deadly force. State law holds that police officers may use deadly force to: Defend themselves or someone else from what they believe to be the use or imminent use of deadly force. To effect an arrest or prevent the escape of a dangerous or armed felon. The level of force applied must reflect the "totality of the circumstances." Officers must select from an "objectively reasonable" range of options to use only the level of force necessary to respond to the threat. Officers are to rely on their training, experience and assessment of the situation to decide the appropriate amount of force to use. Use of force that is not reasonable or appropriate "will not be tolerated." Officers must report all use of force to a supervisor and request medical attention any time they injure a suspect or the suspect claims to be injured. Factors in determining what constitutes "objectively reasonable" force include: How imminent the threat to the officers or others is. How actively the suspect is resisting. How "tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving" the situation is. How severe the crime the suspect committed is. The greater those factors are, the greater the level of force that may be used. Source: Denver Police Department |