DENVER | A Loveland police officer accused of dislocating the shoulder of a 73-year-old woman with dementia while arresting her seemed to be aware he had injured her. He told fellow officers “ready for the pop?” as he showed them his body camera footage, according to police station surveillance video with enhanced audio that was made public Monday by the woman’s lawyer.
Officer Austin Hopp made the comment while showing the other officers the part of the arrest that shows Karen Garner being held against the hood of a patrol car in Loveland, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Denver last year, her handcuffed left arm bent up behind her head. The body camera footage, which can be heard but not seen on the surveillance video, was also previously released by Garner’s lawyer.
The videos plus a lawsuit filed against Hopp, other officers and the city and investigations into the arrest came this month amid a national reckoning over the use of force by police against people — including those with mental and physical health conditions.
The surveillance video captured in the Loveland police station shows two other officers, one male and female, watching the footage with Hopp as he makes the “pop” comment. The female officer, who helped during the arrest and says, “I hate this.”
The video then shows her pull her hat over her eyes while another male officer says, “I love it.”
Earlier in the surveillance video, before the officers watch the body camera footage, Hopp says Garner is “flexible” and says something else that’s inaudible. He then makes another reference to the popping sound, telling the female officer that “I was pushing, pushing, pushing. I hear — pop. I was like ‘oh no,’” he said. The female officer puts her head in her hands.
At the time, Garner was in a holding cell a few feet away, handcuffed to a bench. The federal lawsuit filed on her behalf earlier this month said she received no medical care for about six hours after she was taken to jail.
Later in the surveillance video, Hopp and the other male officer fist bump at the part of the body camera footage where Hopp dismisses the concerns of a man passing by the arrest scene who stops to object to how Hopp treated what the man thought was a child.
After watching that part of the body cam video a second time, the second officer who is recorded on the surveillance video reacts to the man who stopped at the arrest scene by saying: “What are you doing? Get out of here. This is none of your business.”
Hopp arrested Garner in June 2020 after she allegedly left a store without paying for about $14 worth of items. His body camera footage shows Hopp catching up to her as she walks through a field along a road. She shrugs and turns away from him and he quickly grabs her arm and pushes her 80-pound body to the ground. She looks confused and repeatedly says, “I am going home.”
On the police station video, Hopp says he is a little worried that Garner is “like senile and stuff.” Several times, he and the other officers say she fought with police and Hopp says she got her handcuffs halfway off.
Police put Hopp on leave after the lawsuit was filed and announced they would conduct an internal investigation. Soon after that, the district attorney’s office announced the arrest of Garner would be investigated by a team of outside law enforcement agencies. The city of Loveland has also said it will conduct a review.
Loveland police declined to comment on the new video footage from the police station, citing the criminal investigation being conducted at the district attorney’s request.
“Independent comment from the Loveland Police Department would not be appropriate at this time. LPD has faith in the due process that this investigation allows for,” it said in a statement.
Hopp could not be located for comment. The Loveland Fraternal Order of Police, the union representing city police officers, did not return an email asking whether he had a lawyer who could speak for him.
The lawyer representing Garner and her family, Sarah Schielke, said the latest video footage needed to be released to force the department to change.
“If I didn’t release this, the Loveland Police’s toxic culture of arrogance and entitlement, along with their horrific abuse of the vulnerable and powerless, would carry on, business as usual. I won’t be a part of that,” she said.
A sergeant who signed off on the paperwork the officers were filling out while they watched the body camera footage was also added as defendants in Garner’s lawsuit as was the second male officer watching the footage.
Needs to be fired for not handling the problem better.
Should be charged with unnecessary roughness.
they all need to be charged. Even the cops that saw the video for failing to report elderly abuse and police misconduct. LOCK THEM UP in general poulation.
I cant believe it.
Thankfully the elderly woman was not a person of color. while it is obvious these clowns are assholes at least they possibly might not be racist assholes. Who in their right mind would trust a police officer???
I would assume that none of you have fought with people trying to control them while they struggled wildly. It is frustrating. They are, in the case of women, often flexible and twisting around. You are trying not to hurt them while also trying to control them. They are often completely irrational and don’t listen to you when you tell them to quit fighting. If you think that officers enjoy struggling with some elderly irrational female, then you are sadly mistaken. When he first talks about the “pop”, he says “oh no”. Pointing out the pop is only a recognition of it. Sometimes the pop means something and sometimes it is just a matter of tendons snapping over a joint. What really matters is how they tried to control without using excessive force. It is natural for officers to muse and laugh about the irrational behavior of those they have to arrest. What is important is if they get medical treatment if she is complaining about the shoulder at that time. If you are going to fire officers for being human, there will be no officers. We are headed that way. If you sue the police for every little perceived slight, the cities will no longer be able to afford police. You can also hear the officers acknowledge that the use of force will have to be reviewed. Her resistance is on body cam. You, as citizens have no idea what force is reasonable and you are not familiar with all of the dynamics involved in struggling with someone. What is completely reasonable often appears excessive to the average person.
good try but you can’t make excuses for people who beat up an old lady.
Unbelievable! I hope it’s not true but each time I see these reports it would appear that some US police officers are totally out of control-
What will it take to build police departments that “protect and serve” the public. Our tax dollars pay their salaries! We need reform from the top on down, with evidence-based hiring, training, and ongoing supervision practices. Officers who intimidate, maim, and kill people who pose no threat to the public are unfit for duty and should be tried in court.