News / Human Rights

US policemen mock elderly woman with dementia during her forcible arrest

Tuesday, 27 April 2021 1:42 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 28 April 2021 8:11 AM ]

Bodycam footage shows a police officer bringing a 70 year old woman, who has dementia, to the ground after stealing $14 worth of groceries in Loveland, Colorado. (Photo by NBC)

Another shocking video has surfaced showing some US police officers mocking an elderly woman suffering from dementia as they watch video of her shoulder going “pop” during her forcible arrest.

Karen Garner, 73, was detained on 26 June last year after she walked out of a Walmart store in the US state of Colorado, 50 miles north of Denver, without paying for $13 of items.

The officers overpowered her during the arrest, resulting in injuries to her elbow and shoulder, according to her lawyer Sarah Schielke.

The footage released on Monday shows officers fist-bumping one another, in a thoughtless and insensitive gesture, as they review body camera video of the incident.

Two Colorado cops Austin Hopp & Daria Jalali of Loveland PD violently arrested a 73-year-old woman with dementia & were caught on camera celebrating & laughing while reviewing the horrific body-cam footage. Why do US PDs have so many sociopaths? https://t.co/TJAHeWu0OY
— Dr.Aditi (@aditinfinite) April 26, 2021

It shows the frail-looking grandmother handcuffed to a bench while the officers merrily joke about the incident, says her lawyer.

“Ready for the pop? Hear the pop?” one of the officers is heard saying, referring to the elderly lady’s shoulder.

As they continue watching the footage, the same officer says: “I love it.”

The Garner family’s lawyer has filed a federal lawsuit against the department, alleging the officers violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and “violently assaulted” the lady.

Schielke says her client went six hours without medical help while confused and crying in pain after an arrest that amounted to "torture".

Video shows officers who arrested the 73-year-old Colorado woman with dementia hi_ fiving over taking her to the ground and laughing about the "pop" her shoulder made as it was dislocated and broken.https://t.co/K2RlAx8Myu
— Crash Richardson (@CrashRichardso1) April 26, 2021

"They failed Karen Garner," the lawyer said in a press release. "They failed the community. And they did it all on camera."

Loveland police said in a statement on Monday they would not be making any comments pending the results of a "criminal investigation" launched last week.

The footage had caused public outcry when it was released earlier this month.

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Garner's family members told local media in Denver that the arrest and subsequent torture had worsened her dementia.

“She hasn't come back the way she was before,” a family member was quoted saying by Denver Post. "It was too much."

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