While a viral video from Colorado police is breaking 73-year-old Karen Garner’s leg, the Internet is spreading, officials concerned will soon experience a pay rise approved by the city of Loveland.
In the film footage of the June 26, 2020 incident, Austin Hopp, a Loveland police officer in Colorado, can be seen driving behind Karen Garner – a grandmother of nine who is accused of walking out of a Walmart without looking for items at all. To pay $ 14 – before she got out. of his car and shouted that she should stop. Walmart employees stopped Garner as she walked outside the store, recycled the items, denied her attempts to pay for them, and called police.
Garner looks confused and repeatedly says, “I’m going home,” before the officer throws her on the ground and pulls out handcuffs.
Garner was still clutching a bunch of wildflowers while pinned down, with her pig tied behind her back in the arrest viewed by nearly 100,000 people online.
The recording of the cameras was made public online on Wednesday when Garner’s lawyers filed a federal lawsuit against the city and three police officers at her arrest. According to the case, Garner left a broken and dislocated shoulder, a sprained wrist, a bloody nose and multiple bruises.
According to the lawsuit, Garner’s dementia and sensory aphasia prevented her from responding adequately to the situation.
On March 16, Loveland City Council approved a revised pay scale for numerous positions in the Loveland police station, including police officer, sergeant and community service officer, according to records released by Newsweek.
The salary increases amount to about 3.4 percent in the qualifying posts and went into effect on April 9th. The individual employees receive the compensation on the anniversary of the date on which they were appointed.
According to the Herald Reporter.
The Loveland police station said they were unaware of the incident until Garner’s case was filed Wednesday.
“Loveland police took note on Wednesday, April 14, of the details contained in a federal lawsuit over excessive use of force and serious bodily injury during the arrest of a Loveland resident in connection with a shoplifting incident,” the department said in a statement. “The department undertook an investigation into the incident on 26 June 2020 which will include the investigation of all images, documents and records compiled in connection with the event.”
According to the department, the arresting officer in the case was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Officer Daria Jalali, who assisted with the arrest, and ao. Philip Metzler, the supervisor at the scene, was both assigned to ‘administrative duties’.
Garner is charged with theft, resisting arrest and obstructing a peace officer, but prosecutors have called for the charges to be dropped in court. She appears to be ‘unable to understand her surroundings or her actions’, they wrote in a motion.
Loveland Police Chief Bob Ticer told the Herald that the case damaged public trust and promised transparency in the investigation.
“We have upset people, rightly upset people. When that happens, we have broken trust and being able to be a community … when it is broken, it is difficult, it is worrying, it is difficult to deal with,” he said. said. ‘If we file a lawsuit or a complaint like this, some in the public will look at it and say’ this is the police department ‘. This is one incident we are now addressing. ‘
Garner’s lawsuit comes amid a period of national attention and outrage over aggressive police maneuvers in confrontations with suspects, particularly black individuals. According to the Associated Press, Sarah Schielke, Garner’s attorney, can also abuse the power when arresting defenseless or disabled suspects.
Dr. Erroll Southers, former assistant chief of home security and intelligence at the police department of airports, calls Garner’s incident “a classic case where de-escalation is the whole situation for both the officer and [Garner]. “
“Just because something is within the department’s policy does not mean it is necessary,” Southers said. Newsweek. “I want to remind people that the actions being taken against these officers are not being done because the department has to do it, but because the public has seen the video.”
While police have arrested Garner, one bystander can be seen stopping next to the scene. “Do you have to use so much aggression?” asked the bystander according to the footage. “Get out of here,” Hopp replied.
In the case, it is alleged that the police only sought medical help for Garner about six hours after she sustained injuries. It also alleges that officers violated Garner’s constitutional right to be protected from excessive violence, as did Americans with disabilities.
What a little freedom and happiness that Mrs. “Garner enjoyed in her life as an elderly adult with deteriorating mental health was ruthlessly and deliberately wiped out by the Loveland Police Department on June 26, 2020,” he said.
Newsweek issued the City of Loveland and Walmart for comment. This story will be updated with any answer.
Check out the recording of the body chamber of Garner’s arrest below:
Warning – images may disturb some readers