Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire cop breaks 73-year-old's arm during arrest

Dementia is no excuse for not complying. I guess she thinks she dindunuffin.

DA calls for review after cop breaks 73-year-old's arm during arrest
Christopher Brito
Tue, April 20, 2021, 1:12 PM
https://www.yahoo.com/news/da-calls-review-police-break-171203150.html


A Colorado district attorney called for a criminal review on Monday after newly released video showed a Loveland Police Department officer allegedly injuring a 73-year-old woman during an arrest last year. The family of Karen Garner is suing the department and three responding officers.

The body camera video released last week showed Officer Austin Hopp arresting Garner, who allegedly stole more than $13 worth of merchandise from a Walmart. In the video taken on June 26, the officer was heard trying to stop Garner, who has dementia, according to her family.

When he caught up to her, she continued to walk and eventually, she stopped. After Garner refused to talk to him, the officer grabbed her arm to detain her. After a brief struggle, she was forced to the ground and restrained with her arms behind her back.

During the encounter, Garner said she wanted to go home, which was two blocks away from where she was picking wildflowers and later, held by officers. She also gave back the items when Walmart employees initially stopped her, according to family attorney Schielke.

Schielke said Garner's arm was broken, her shoulder was separated and bruises covered her body following the arrest. She wasn't taken to the hospital for her injuries and was left in a cell for six hours, Schielke said. Charges against her were dropped.

Christopher Brito
Tue, April 20, 2021, 1:12 PM·2 min read
A Colorado district attorney called for a criminal review on Monday after newly released video showed a Loveland Police Department officer allegedly injuring a 73-year-old woman during an arrest last year. The family of Karen Garner is suing the department and three responding officers.

The body camera video released last week showed Officer Austin Hopp arresting Garner, who allegedly stole more than $13 worth of merchandise from a Walmart. In the video taken on June 26, the officer was heard trying to stop Garner, who has dementia, according to her family.

When he caught up to her, she continued to walk and eventually, she stopped. After Garner refused to talk to him, the officer grabbed her arm to detain her. After a brief struggle, she was forced to the ground and restrained with her arms behind her back.

During the encounter, Garner said she wanted to go home, which was two blocks away from where she was picking wildflowers and later, held by officers. She also gave back the items when Walmart employees initially stopped her, according to family attorney Schielke.

Schielke said Garner's arm was broken, her shoulder was separated and bruises covered her body following the arrest. She wasn't taken to the hospital for her injuries and was left in a cell for six hours, Schielke said. Charges against her were dropped.


Gordon P. McLaughlin, the district attorney for Larimer and Jackson counties, called for an independent criminal review into the incident.

"Involved and investigating agencies have agreed that an independent criminal review is appropriate, and an investigation of the incident will occur," McLaughlin said in a statement.

Schielke said in addition to dementia, Garner suffers from sensory aphasia, which impairs her ability to verbally communicate and understand others' communications. She filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of Garner against the Loveland Police Department, Officer Hopp, and two other responding officers. The lawsuit also claims violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, stating that because of Garner's mental disabilities, she "could not speak for herself or understand" Hopp's intentions and they "failed to reasonably accommodate her disability."

"Ms. Garner is one of the most vulnerable members of our community – a mother, a grandmother, a tiny, frail human with cognitive disabilities – and they treated her like an animal," Schielke said.

According to Schielke, Garner lost most functional use of her left arm and requires assistance to shower and get dressed.

Loveland Police said in statement they were also investigating the incident. The arresting officer in the case was placed on administrative leave, pending the investigation's outcome. The officer who assisted in the arrest and the on-scene supervisor were reassigned to administrative duties. Loveland police chief Robert Ricer told CBS Denver he was unaware of her injuries until he saw the lawsuit. Before the lawsuit, the two officers and supervisor were not disciplined.

Their chief is a cheese-dick liberal. Cop will probably be fired asap

1. Cop is an idiot. She stole from Walmart, Ofc. Time could solve that one easily. I root for shoplifters at wally world honestly, f uck that s hithole.
2. If she had dementia, why wasn't she in a facility that could care for her?
3. UOF never looks good.


News flash due to the Ferguson effect anyone that voluntarily becomes a police officer post 2015 is a complete moron. And morons do dumb s hit like snap-crackle-pop grammy fo' shoplifting at wally world.

After going through this with my father , all I can say to this is somewhere there is a person of responsibilty that failed this poor lady. To just let dementia patients wander is fraught with peril.

Unfortunately it's becoming more prevalent with the aging boomer generation. Hell I just had to beg a spry 95yr old WWII vet to go to the hospital. Guy has dementia and assaulted his old azz daughter inlaw to get his keys back. Like put the beat down on her with a cane. I had to spend 45mins begging him to go peacefully, because putting the beat down on a 95 year old man doesn't look good no matter how it happens.

Until you deal with a loved one with dementia, you’ll just never know. Imagine someone nearly vegetative in a chair for hours upon hours who suddenly has some synapses fire off in her brain and she thinks it’s 1982 and she needs to go to the grocery store. She hasn’t driven in years, but she knows exactly where the keys are and is gone in a flash. They’ll wear your ass down to exhaustion being up all night doing this and that, and then just when nothing has happened for hours and hours and you think it is safe to relax, they’re gone.

That period where there starting to get bad enough to be out in a home, but before it actually gets done can be tough.

I deal with dementias and nutters everyday. They need to be in a facility, not roaming around free range...

Sure you do.

I've done more emergency detentions/mental health holds in my career than almost anything else.

Most of those are suicidal folks, but some are dementia diagnosed old folks that lash out in anger (pretty common with dementia patients).

But I'm sure you know more thumbing yer pecker

And why do you do an emergency detention? What made it necessary, Einstein?

Yes, and now they are suing to try to profit from their dereliction. Quite genius actually.

In what instance, dumb f uck? It's a 72hr involuntary hold for folks that pose a danger to themselves or others.

Do I enjoy doing it? No I don't. I'd prefer they just kill themselves. But if it's an old timer I'd prefer taking them to the hospital over the jail when they have dementia and have assaulted someone.

But again, I'm sure you've been there done that.........

Hopefully the lawsuit goes directly to her care and safety, which I realize is a pipe dream........

So, Einstein, how was it determined that they posed a danger to themselves or others?

Who? Einstein

You are proving my point.

That you're a dumb s hit?

Quite a few of these police incidents are complicated and
tragic. Almost always a sad victim, whether it's a bad policing deal,
a cop crucified for doing his job, or whatever the hell this is.
The lady and the cop doing his job.



Watched the video after reading the article, so knew her story and
was sympathetic to her.

That cop was trying to be as gentle as possible.
And if he broke bones, they broke real easy.

We had an old lady with dementia here whose husband cared for her.
She stole stuff in stores faster than a pack of peaceful protesters at Nike.
He would keep tabs and return it.
Or, for the sympathetic stores, just give them a list and they would bill him.
She was ok to walk to my wife's store, and they would watch her when she
was alone. Running a tab that he would settle when he bought gas.

Do cops really need instruction that elderly women who are obviously not strong do not require MMA level tactics and force to subdue? How easy would it have been to detain her without any arm twisting? Do these people not have grandparents?

Have you ever had to physically force ANYONE to do anything they didn't want to?

I read dislocated, not broken. Not that is matters, I guess.

Probably pretty easy to dislocate an elderly woman’s shoulder.