Colorado city to pay $3 million to settle lawsuit over arrest of 73-year-old woman with dementia

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Loveland city leaders and the family of Karen Garner have agreed to a $3 million settlement to a civil case tied to Garner's forcible arrest in June 2020.

Garner's arrest drew national attention after body camera footage released by her family's lawyer showed former Loveland Police Department officer Austin Hopp forcibly detain the then 73-year-old woman after staff at a Loveland Walmart accused her of attempting to leave the store with items she hadn't paid for.

Garner, who has dementia, suffered multiple injuries in the arrest, for which Hopp faces criminal charges including second-degree assault causing serious bodily injury. Loveland Police Department terminated Hopp, former officer Daria Jalali and former community service officer Tyler Blackett over their roles in Garner's arrest and subsequent detention.

"The amount of this settlement is likely record-breaking for a civil rights case that doesn't involve death or permanent disfigurement," attorney Sarah Schielke said in a news conference Wednesday outside the Loveland courthouse and police headquarters.

The settlement ends the civil case filed on behalf of the Garner family by Schielke, while criminal cases against Hopp and Jalali continue.

"The settlement will help fund the 24/7 care that we have her in, and that will be a big help towards that care," Garner's daughter, Allisa Swartz, said at the news conference.

The family chose to settle the case so Garner could benefit immediately from the proceeds. Court proceedings, had they continued, would likely have lasted several years, Schielke said, while Garner's condition deteriorated. Garner has not spoken of her arrest since the morning after it occurred, and her caregivers have told them not to bring it up, Swartz said.

The family recently found a letter Garner had written to her three children and nine grandchildren after being diagnosed with dementia a few years ago in which she urged them not to live in the past, Schielke said.

Schielke went on to issue a challenge to Loveland Police Chief Robert Ticer, pledging to donate $50,000 of her own money to a charity benefitting those who suffer from Alzheimer's disease or dementia if he resigns within 30 days.

Change in leadership, she said, is the only way to begin fixing "a culture of police officers who have no respect, no care, no compassion for the people they're supposed to be keeping safe. A culture of police officers who back one another before they stand up for a vulnerable citizen they're supposed to protect."

She went on to mention other recent allegations of Loveland police using excessive force, including the shooting last month of mentally ill teenager in his backyard whose death was announced Wednesday.

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“The settlement with Karen Garner will help bring some closure to an unfortunate event in our community but does not upend the work we have left to do. We extend a deep and heartfelt apology to Karen Garner and her family for what they have endured as a result of this arrest,” Loveland City Manager Steve Adams said in a written statement. “We know we did not act in a manner that upholds the values, integrity, and policies of the City and police department, and we are taking the necessary steps to make sure these actions are never repeated.”

Loveland and its police department have pledged multiple steps to "hopefully restore faith that the LPD exists to serve those who live in and visit Loveland," as Ticer stated in the city's release.

It initiated an independent investigation into Garner's arrest, led by consulting group Hillard Heintze, and formed a 16-member Ad Hoc Community Trust Commission, for which it is seeking applicants.

The city has also scheduled a virtual community town hall to address concerns with Loveland Police Department from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 16. Registration information can be found here.

A judge found ample evidence to continue the criminal case against Hopp during a mid-August preliminary hearing. He is scheduled for a Sept. 29 court appearance, at which time he is expected to enter a plea.

Jalali faces misdemeanor charges in connection with Garner's arrest. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 13 in anticipation of new evidence being released during and after Hopp's preliminary hearing, her attorney said during an Aug. 10 court appearance.

"This settlement brings a measure of justice to the Garner family, but it does not deliver full justice, particularly to this community," Schielke said. "Full justice to Karen Garner and this community will happen at the moment that every individual who participated in this atrocity or fostered the conditions and culture that made its happening possible is held accountable."

Follow Eric Larsen and Kelly Lyell on Twitter: @ericlarsen_news and @KellyLyell.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado city to pay $3M settlement over Karen Garner arrest