The 73-year-old woman with dementia, who was left with broken bones after cops threw her on the ground, sues the Colorado police.
- In June 2020, a police officer tackled a 73-year-old woman with dementia to the ground and arrested her, leaving her with broken bones and multiple bruises.
- Karen Garner, who also suffers from sensory aphasia – an inability to understand spoken and written speech, was accused of shoplifting from a Walmart.
- The grandmother’s family is suing the Colorado police on her behalf.
Last summer, Karen Garner, 73, was arrested by Colorado police officers while picking flowers. The cops accused her of shoplifting from a local Walmart.
As UNILAD reports, Loveland Police Officer Austin Hopp forcefully tackled the grandma to the ground with the words: “You just left Walmart. Do you need to be arrested right now?”
According to Garner’s family, she managed to slip out of Walmart while she was out of their sight, accidentally taking a can of Pepsi, a t-shirt, and some wipes with her.
After the harrowing arrest, the elderly lady, who also suffers from dementia and sensory aphasia – an inability to understand spoken and written speech, was left with broken bones, bruises, and severe trauma.
The moment the police officer throws the grandma on the ground can be seen in disturbing bodycam footage.
In the distressing video, Hopp tackles the 73-year-old lady on the ground, twists her arms behind her back, and lifts her left arm “painfully upward,” even though she is now showing any resistance. A passerby can be heard questioning the cop why he had felt the need to use “that much aggression.”
On April 14, Garner’s family filed a lawsuit on her behalf. It states that after the traumatizing arrest, she was left with a dislocated shoulder, a fractured humerus bone, and a sprained wrist. Attorney Sarah Schielke told VICE:
“This is not a ‘single bad apple’ type of scenario. This is a systemic, cultural, deeply ingrained, coming-down-from-leadership type of attitude, where this is not community policing – it’s community terrorism, practically.
If somebody’s dumb enough, in their mind, to not capitulate, they’re going to pay for it. Even if you’re an elderly disabled lady.”
Currently, officer Hopp is placed on administrative leave while the police are investigating Garner’s case.
