Two Colorado cops violently arrested a 73-year-old woman who has dementia—then were caught on camera celebrating and laughing when they reviewed their horrific body-cam footage hours later at the police station.
The two officers have been identified as Austin Hopp and Daria Jalali of the Loveland Police Department. They arrested 73-year-old Karen Garner on June 26, 2020, after she left a Walmart with $13 of goods that she hadn’t paid for. Garner’s family says she forgot to pay because of her condition.
According to the Denver Post, Hopp found Garner walking home after Walmart staff had reported her. Body-cam footage released this month showed Hopp tackling the terrified woman to the ground when she refused to stop walking way from him, then he handcuffed her and pushed her hard against his cruiser. A concerned citizen can be seen stopping by the side of the road to ask Hopp if so much force was necessary.
The cops fractured the woman’s arm and dislocated her shoulder during the arrest, her family has said, and it’s this horrific body-cam footage that the officers were caught on surveillance camera watching as Garner sat in a nearby cell for hours after her ordeal at the hands of the police.
“Ready for the pop?” Hopp said to Jalali and another officers while they gathered round to watch the footage of the violent arrest. “What popped?” another officer asked. “I think it was her shoulder,” Hopp replied. These comments can be heard at 48:30 in the below video.
Hopp can be heard saying “I can’t believe I threw a 73-year-old on the ground,” while Jalali comments: “It’s like live TV... Body-cams are my favorite thing to watch, I could watch livestream body-cams all day.” The third officer can be heard suggesting “The Body-Cam Show” as a title for a proposed television special, and says to Hopp: “Impressive, buddy.” ...
This sounded bad before they got caught on tape laughing about it. These guys need to be held accountable to fullest extent possible. It makes me wonder how many other people they've assaulted throughout their careers.
_________________ There's no such thing as a free market. If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing. —Malcolm X Just a reminder: under international law, an occupying power has no right of self-defense, and those who are occupied have the right and duty to liberate themselves by any means possible.
Joined: 12 Apr 2010 Gender: Male Posts: 49,751 Location: Spokane area, Washington state.
29 Apr 2021, 7:15 pm
I'm hoping we're seeing a turning of the tide when it comes to abusive police not just going to trial for wrong doing, but getting convicted, too. I hope these two get to see the inside of prison.
_________________ -Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer
26 Apr 2021, 11:43 am
