DENVER -- More details are expected to be released Monday about a police shooting over the weekend that left a 15-year-old mentally disabled boy dead.

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Paul Childs' Mother Talks About Son's Death

The shooting has many asking why the officer used deadly force rather than a Taser stun gun.

Paul Childs (pictured, left) was shot several times and killed by police while standing in the doorway of his family home in northwest Denver Saturday afternoon. African-American leaders in Denver said the shooting was nothing short of murder. Denver police said the shooting was necessary because the teenager was holding a knife and did not follow officers' repeated orders to drop it.

But friends and African American community leaders who gathered at his family's home on the 5500 block of East Thrill Place said that Paul was a "great kid" who was "never violent." They believe police went too far and they want something done about it.

"We're asking for an independent investigation. We're asking that the police not do their own investigation because we know the Denver police cannot police themselves," said Alvertis Simmons, state organizer for the Million Man March. "The question is this: Would they have shot that young man had he been white and in Cherry Hills? Ask the Denver police that question."

"We're saying to you in the Denver community, you get a grip on this because the black man and woman are tired of being murdered by those we call to serve and protect us," said Rev. Gerald Muhammad, with the Nation of Islam.

He said if police had been dealing with a white boy they would have used a negotiator to persuade him to drop the weapon.

"He had the knife, but he wasn't coming at them and they killed him," said the boy's mother, Helen Childs (pictured, right) through tears.

Childs told 7NEWS that one officer at the shooting called on another to use a taser gun on the 15-year-old.

Denver is one of several police departments in Colorado where at least some officers carry taser guns. Tasers are used to subdue suspects with an electrical current.

Denver police will not say if the officers at the scene had taser guns and if they should have been used in this case. However, they said in some instances, lethal force is the right choice.

"The use of less lethal weapons is not a substitute for use of lethal force. This was a case that we received information that a young man had threatened his mother in the home with a knife. When the officers confronted the subject, he had a knife and the officer took appropriate action," said Denver police detective John White.

Police said they weren't told the teen was mentally disabled. Police chief Gerald Whitman planned a Monday evening news conference to discuss the shooting.

Helen Childs said she never felt as if she was in any danger and had called police to her home to simply talk to her son. She said some officers are familiar with her home because police have been called there before when her son ran away from home or was lost, 7NEWS reported.

Childs received several gunshot wounds. His mother said she heard at least three shots fired.

Many of the neighbors who knew Childs said although he certainly looked 15, he acted more like he was in grade school.

"He was slow but he was nice. He didn't bother anybody and I've never seen him be violent before," said neighbor Zalybia Scott.

Mark Perlmutter, Childs' special education teacher at East High School, said he was a friendly kid who was always looking for someone to talk with and shake their hand. He said he suffered from seizures which nearly left him blind. To read Childs had to use a large magnifying glass, he said.

"I'm still shocked. He was a great kid. He would never hurt anyone," Perlmutter said.

A prayer vigil was planned for Thursday at the family's home. Mourners planned to walk from there to Skyland Park.

The first Million Man March was organized by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in 1995 on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Black men from across the country pledged to help improve their communities at the event.