Karen Garner Arrest

“Ready for the pop? Here comes the pop.” The quote above is from a Loveland Police officer – Austin Hopp – said in reference to the sound it made when he dislocated and fractured Karen Garner’s shoulder. Hopp made this comment to two fellow Loveland Police officers while they watched his body camera video together at the police station. They all laughed about it. The comment was made while Karen Garner, who has dementia, remained handcuffed to a bench in a cell just 10 feet away from them, alone, confused and crying in pain. She would ultimately go over six hours without any medical attention. This horrific statement comes to light after Ms. Garner’s family hired a sound engineer to enhance the audio on Loveland Police station booking videos from the day of Karen’s arrest. The video reveals a grotesque culture of callous disregard for the health and safety of citizens. The officers fist-bump one another multiple times in self-congratulation for both the assault on Garner and the intimidation of the citizen who attempted to complain about it. In an April 26, 2021 press release responding to the revelations seen in this video, Ms. Garner’s attorney, Sarah Schielke of The Life & Liberty Law Office states: “This is utterly disgusting. These videos cannot be unseen or unheard. I am sorry to have to share them with the public. This will be traumatic and deeply upsetting for everyone to see. But as it often goes with bad police departments, it seems this is the only way to make them change. They have to be exposed. If I didn’t release this, the Loveland Police’s toxic culture of arrogance and entitlement, along with their abuse of the vulnerable and powerless, would carry on, business as usual. I won’t be a part of that.” “Loveland knew. They’ve known all along,” Schielke continues. “They failed Karen Garner. They failed the community. And they did it all on camera. Do you realize how horrifying that is? That means they were used to getting away with it. That the comfortable norm in Loveland is one of zero accountability. That this is not just some ‘isolated incident.’ It is not just one single ‘problem.’ It is widespread, sociopathic criminality. And to attempt to shift the burden to Karen, or a bystander, or her family, or counsel, to report this? Shame on you, Loveland. You took an oath to protect and serve. This is a disgrace.” Since filing a federal lawsuit against the City of Loveland and three of its officers on April 14, 2021, the Loveland Police Department’s gruesome arrest and abuse of 73-year-old grandmother Karen Garner has horrified the country, making national headlines (New York Times, Washington Post, CBS News, NBC News, CNN, Newsweek, The Guardian, Vice). The 8th Judicial District Attorney’s office, in conjunction with the FBI and Fort Collins Police, has since opened a criminal investigation into the Loveland Police. Meanwhile, the City of Loveland has vowed to protect the “due process” rights of its officers, with Chief Robert Ticer putting one officer on administrative leave (Hopp) and “reassigning” the other two officers (Sergeant Metzler and Officer Jalali) to “administrative duties” (desk duty) until the various investigations are completed. To date, the City has yet to extend any apology to Ms. Garner or her family for the various atrocities witnessed on these videos. The complete uncut booking area video is available here: https://youtu.be/1iuuyg94-yI​ Officer Hopp’s bodyworn camera video of the assault on Ms. Garner is available here: https://youtu.be/VG0wfPMMR4k​