DENVER -- Celebrity attorney Johnnie Cochran was in Denver Tuesday meeting with city officials about the shooting death of a mentally disabled black teenager last summer.

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Johnnie Cochran Discusses DPD Shooting

The family of 15-year-old Paul Childs hired Cochran after Denver police Officer James Turney shot and killed the boy in July. The developmentally-disabled teen had allegedly threatened his mother with a knife.

Family members have filed a civil lawsuit against the city, alleging excessive and unreasonable force led to the teen's death.

Cochran talked with reporters after the meeting and said a settlement in a lawsuit brought by the family wasn't discussed -- but he did talk with officials about preventing something similar from happening again.

City Attorney Cole Finegan said another meeting will come in a few days or weeks. He says city officials mostly listened to the family and Cochran during the meeting.

Police say that when they arrived at Childs home, Childs was standing in the doorway, refusing to drop the 13-inch kitchen knife he was holding. The teen's family said he may not have understood police officers' orders and that he was not a threat to any of the officers. The family argues that officers could have easily used a Taser gun instead of lethal force.

In a letter informing the city of their intent to sue, the family alleges that they suffered "loss of companionship" and intangible emotional injuries by witnessing the shooting -- and said damages may reach $5 million.

Turney was never charged for the shooting, even though it was the second disabled teen the policeman had shot dead in 18 months. District Attorney Bill Ritter has cleared police in all 70 shootings since he was elected 10 years ago.

Ritter said he had insufficient evidence to prove that Turney's actions amounted to criminal conduct. Ritter said after reviewing videotape and audiotape statements from officers, family members and witnesses at the scene, he concluded that Turney's actions were not unreasonable. He also said that the officers at the scene were told only that a teen was trying to stab his mother, and not anything of his mentally disabled condition.

As a result of the high-profile shooting and the backlash that it unleashed from the black community, Hickenlooper unveiled sweeping reforms to improve training, increase the number of Tasers available to officers, and review of the use of deadly force in the police department. Hickenlooper also wants the department to train 300 officers in crisis intervention, boosting the number to 500, and appoint a minority recruiter to ensure a more diverse police force.

Cochran is best known for winning the acquittal of O.J. Simpson on murder charges in the 1994 death of his ex-wife.