DISTURBING video shows two cops, under investigation for their violent arrest of a dementia sufferer, laughing as they watched body-cam footage of it.
They appeared to be celebrating after the 73-year-old Karen Gurner was left with a dislocated shoulder and fractured arm, having been tackled to the ground for forgetting to pay $13 at a Colorado Walmart.
Walmart employees noticed the pensioner leave the shop with a candy bar, a can of Pepsi and t-shirt without paying on June 26, 2020,
Staff stopped Karen — who also suffers from sensory aphasia which impairs her ability to communicate and understand speech — at the exit and took the items back from her after reportedly refusing to let her pay.
But as she walked home, police Officers Austin Hopp and Daria Jalali arrested Garner, who appeared visibly confused in Hopp's bodycam footage.
Court documents say an officer "violently assaulted her, twisting her arms behind her back, throwing her to the ground and handcuffing her".
However, the Loveland Police Department surveillance footage, which was released by Garner's family's attorney Sarah Schielke, purportedly showed the officers laughing at body-camera footage of the arrest hours later.
I think it was her shoulder. I can't believe I threw a 73-year-old on the ground
Two of the cops were identified as Hopp and Jalal.
Schielke said the officers made their commentary while Garner "remained handcuffed to a bench in a cell just 10 feet away from them, alone, confused and crying in pain".
During this Hopp is heard saying in an apparent reference to Garner's arm coming out of its socket: "Ready for the pop?"
A third unnamed officer asks: "What popped?".
Hopp then replies: "I think it was her shoulder. I can't believe I threw a 73-year-old on the ground."
Jalali then quipped: "It's like live TV… Body-cams are my favorite thing to watch, I could watch livestream body-cams all day."
The third officer suggests creating a TV show dedicated to body-camera footage before telling Hopp: "Impressive, buddy."
The body cam footage shows officer Hopp drag Garner, who is 5ft tall and weighs just 80 pounds, to the ground as she shouts: "I'm going home".
She can be saying "don't do that" as Hopp tells her to stay "on the ground".
After keeping her pinned on the ground, Hopp can be heard saying: "After a short struggle, she is now detained."
She is then seen being pushed against the cop car as she once again screams "I'm going home".
Another officer, Jalali, tells Garner to "quit it" as pulls her arm behind her back.
A violent snapping sound is then heard when Hopp pushes her arm as the 73-year-old cries out in pain.
Garner can be seen collapsing to the ground as Jalali shouts: "stand up, we're going to hold you."
A concerned passerby can then be heard calling out: "Do you have to use that much aggression".
Hopp tells the worried citizen to "get out of here", telling him "this is not your business".
Sgt. Phil Metzler then appeared on scene, approving the arrest and reportedly directing that Garner “be denied access to medical care for her injuries afterward.”
He asks his colleagues: "Are you guys all good?".
Jalali responds: "A little muddy, a little bloody, that's how it works."
She then confirms the blood was from Garner.
The cops then took Garner into custody, where she was allegedly held for hours before her injuries were tended to.
A federal lawsuit has since been launched by attorney Sarah Schielke on Garner's behalf, alleging "excessive force" as she suffered a fractured upper arm and dislocated shoulder, along with other injuries, during the incident on June 26, 2020, reports Greeley Tribune.
The arresting officer, Hopp, has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation, Loveland police said on Thursday..
Meanwhile, Jalali and Metzler have been reassigned to administrative duties.
A statement from the department said: "LPD takes very seriously the allegations concerning the arrest of resident Karen Garner, and shares with the community the concerns about video images that became public on Wednesday."
Attorney Schielke, from the Life and Liberty Law Office, submitted the lawsuit Wednesday.
"It is a hard-to-watch video," she told the Reporter-Herald.
"It is the opposite of community policing. I thought a lot about this case as I have prepared to file it, and on paper and in the legal pleading it is an excessive-force case.
"In reality when you watch the video, you see this is a torture case."
The lawsuit claims medical help was not sought for Garner until six hours after she was arrested, despite her telling officers she was in pain.
It also claims the arrest violated her constitutional protections against excessive force as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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