Colorado Police Officer Cleared in Fatal Shooting of Disabled Black 15 Year Old
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Officer to Receive 10 Months Back pay
A hearing officer Thursday overturned the 10-month suspension for an officer who gunned down a developmentally disabled teenager in July 2003. Instead, the agency suspended the officer for five days and fined him a day's pay for an unrelated prior incident. Officer James Turney, who has been on unpaid leave since April, did not violate department policy when he fatally shot 15-year-old Paul Childs, Civil Service Commission hearing officer John Criswell ruled. The remaining suspension and fine stemmed from Turney's alleged threatening phone calls to his former mother-in-law the day before Childs' shooting. "The family is devastated by the decision," Childs family attorney Timothy Rastello said. "It's just wrong and it just sends absolutely the wrong message to other officers on Denver streets." Police were called to Childs' home after the teenager threatened his mother with a large kitchen knife July 5, 2003. Police said Turney shot Childs after the teenager refused to drop the knife. The shooting and 10-month suspension outraged many in Denver's black community, which has complained for years of abuse by police. Childs was black and Turney is white. The Childs family threatened to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, which later agreed to pay the family $1.3 million. In a written statement, Mayor John Hickenlooper said he was disappointed with the agency's ruling and has asked the city attorney's office to review the case. City Attorney Cole Finegan said he may appeal. [more] and [more]
