Two Colorado police officers who resigned following the violent arrest of a 73-year-old woman with dementia — and who were later seen on video laughing and joking about it — have been charged nearly a year after the incident.
Loveland Police officer Austin Hopp, 26, has been charged with felony assault for using excessive force that left Karen Garner with serious injuries including a dislocated shoulder. He also faces misconduct charges accusing him of misleading supervisors in reports about what happened during the arrest.
His partner, Daria Jalali, 27, was charged with failing to intervene and later failing to report Hopp’s conduct, both misdemeanors.
The charges against Hopp and Jalali were announced Wednesday at a news conference following the conclusion of a joint investigation on the case conducted by his office and the Fort Collins Police Department.
Both officers were expected to turn themselves in after the charges were filed in Larimer County District Court.
Community Services Officer Tyler Blackett, who transported Garner to the police station and resigned after being shown on video gossiping about the arrest, was not charged.
Hopp arrested Garner in June 2020 after she left a store without paying for about $14 worth of items. His body camera shows him catching up to the woman as she walked through a field along a road. The video shows Garner shrugging and turning away from Hopp, at which point he quickly grabs her arm and pushes the 80-pound woman to the ground.
A federal lawsuit filed on Garner’s behalf claims Hopp, after handcuffing the woman, dislocated her shoulder and fractured her arm by shoving her onto the hood of his patrol car and that she was denied medical treatment in a holding cell for about six hours while the officers mocked her.
Garner’s arm can be heard snapping in the video. On surveillance video captured at the station, Hopp refers to hearing a “pop” sound as he recounts repeatedly pushing Garner, suggesting that he was aware that he had injured her.
Prosecutors said the woman told Hopp at least 14 times that she was in pain yet he failed to provide medical care.
The woman’s arrest sparked outrage in the community about 50 miles north of Denver as police departments across the country are facing increased scrutiny from the public following a series of recent police killings and custody deaths.
Sarah Schielke, an attorney for Garner, said the woman’s family still wants to see others at the police force face charges.
“We are relieved that some criminal charges were filed at all, however we are deeply concerned that they stopped short of charging either of the involved supervising sergeants,” Schielke told The Washington Post.
Sgt. Phil Metzler, who was the supervisor on duty at the time of the arrest, remains suspended pending the results of an independent investigation, police said.
At Wednesday’s news conference, Colorado’s Eighth Judicial District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin said Hopp made “substantial omissions” in his interviews about the incident “in an attempt to thwart the investigation of his conduct.”
“I believe this decision speaks clearly to our community that accountability will be achieved through our independent critical incident response team process and I hope today can be a step toward rebuilding trust between the criminal justice community and the Larimer County community, as well as seeking justice for Ms. Garner’s family,” McLaughlin said.
Loveland Police Department Chief Robert Ticer said he fully supported the district attorney’s decision.
“I fully support the charges brought against these two individuals regarding their interactions with Ms. Garner,” Ticer said at a Wednesday news conference. “We understand the desire for accountability and justice and we are seeing that today for Ms. Garner with the charges being filed.”
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