UNREASONABLE FORCE
Dementia sufferer, 73, left with fractured arm after cop tackled her at Walmart when she forgot to pay $13
A DEMENTIA sufferer was left with a dislocated shoulder and fractured arm after a cop tackled her to the ground when she forgot to pay $13 at Walmart.
The police officer has been suspended after pushing 73-year-old Karen Garner and arresting her near the store in Loveland,
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Walmart employees noticed the pensioner leave the shop with a candy bar, a can of Pepsi and t-shirt totaling $13.38.
Staff stopped Karen - who also suffers from sensory aphasia which impairs her ability to communicate and understand speech - at the exit and took the items back from her after reportedly refusing to let her pay.
But as she walked home, a cop called out to and stopped Garner, who appeared visibly confused in bodycam footage.
Court documents say the officer "violently assaulted her, twisting her arms behind her back, throwing her to the ground and handcuffing her"
Footage shows officer Austin Hopp drag Garner, who is 5ft tall and weighs just 80 pounds, to the ground as she shouts: "I'm going home".
She can be saying "don't do that" as Hopp tells her to stay "on the ground".
After keeping her pinned on the ground, Hopp can be heard saying: "After a short struggle, she is now detained."
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She is then seen being pushed against the cop car as she once again screams "I'm going home".
Another officer, Daria Jalali, tells Garner to ";quit it" as pulls her arm behind her back.
A violent snapping sound is then heard when Hopp pushes her arm as the 73-year-old cries out in pain.
Garner can be seen collapsing to the ground as Jalali shouts: "stand up, we're going to hold you."
A concerned passerby can then be heard calling out: "Do you have to use that much aggression".
Hopp tells the worried citizen to "get out of here", telling him "this is not your business".
Sgt. Phil Metzler then appeared on scene, approving the arrest and reportedly directing that Garner “be denied access to medical care for her injuries afterward.”
He asks his colleagues: "Are you guys all good?".
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Jalali responds: "A little muddy, a little bloody, that's how it works."
She then confirms the blood was from Garner.
The cops then took Garner into custody, where she was allegedly held for hours before her injuries were tended to.
A federal lawsuit has since been launched by attorney Sarah Schielke on Garner's behalf, alleging "excessive force" as she suffered a fractured upper arm and dislocated shoulder, along with other injuries, during the incident on June 26, 2020, reports
The arresting officer, Hopp, has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation, Loveland police said on Thursday..
Meanwhile, Jalali and Metzler have been reassigned to administrative duties.
A statement from the department said: "LPD takes very seriously the allegations concerning the arrest of resident Karen Garner, and shares with the community the concerns about video images that became public on Wednesday."
Attorney Schielke, from the Life and Liberty Law Office, submitted the lawsuit Wednesday.
"It is a hard-to-watch video," she told the
"It is the opposite of community policing. I thought a lot about this case as I have prepared to file it, and on paper and in the legal pleading it is an excessive-force case.
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"In reality when you watch the video, you see this is a torture case."
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The lawsuit claims medical help was not sought for Garner until six hours after she was arrested, despite her telling officers she was in pain.
It also claims the arrest violated her constitutional protections against excessive force as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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