DENVER -- Friends and family will gather for a vigil Thursday evening to remember Paul Childs, the mentally disabled teenager killed by a Denver police officer last weekend.

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The Childs family has enlisted nationally known attorney Johnnie Cochran to represent them and perhaps pursue the case in civil court.

"This kid should not be dead," Cochran told the Associated Press in a telephone interview. "We have a lot of witnesses that say this kid posed no threat to any of the officers or family members, so that's pretty troubling."

Cochran is best known for being part of the "Dream Team" that won the acquittal of O.J. Simpson on murder charges in the 1994 death of his ex-wife.

Police said Childs refused to obey an order to drop a knife when he was shot Saturday afternoon by officer James Turney. Childs' relatives said they did not feel threatened by the teen, but his sister calmly told dispatchers in a 911 call that he was trying to stab their mother.

Turney is now suspended with pay for investigation of an alleged law violation that is not related to the shooting, Denver police said.

The Rocky Mountain News reported that Turney is currently suspended for threatening to kill his former mother-in-law.

Turney and another officer shot and killed an 18-year-old hearing-impaired black man in the same neighborhood in January 2002. Police said Gregory Smith had pulled out a pocket knife. His family said that he had posed no threat to the police officers because they were standing very far from him. No charges were filed in that case because the district attorney ruled that the shooting was justified.

"I'm quite concerned about this case. It's probably one that needs to be litigated," Cochran said about Childs' situation.

The memorial vigil for the 15-year-old will begin at 7:30 p.m. outside Childs' house at 5550 East Thrill Place, where a procession of mourners will walk to Skyline Park.

Funeral services for Childs will be held Saturday. Friends and family will meet at noon at East High School, where he was a sophomore, then the procession will walk to Macedonia Baptist Church for the services at 3240 Adams St.

A memorial fund has been set up for the family. To donate, send a check to: Paul Nash Childs III Memorial
Zion Credit Union
6600 E. Colfax Ave.
Denver, CO 80220