Defund the police was the wrong slogan. Photo: Paul Zinken. According to the complaint, Emily Dutka, who had previously gone public about her arrest, was pulled over by Hill in May of 2020. Schielke said this incident along with others in the past show that there is a theme of issues within department leadership. Beyond excessive use of force incidents, the department has faced scrutiny for several other incidents, including the shooting and killing of a 19-year-old boy in 2021 and a dog in 2019, as well as criticism over alleged wrongful DUI arrests. The suit claims that S.S. was arrested and charged with harassment, domestic violence, obstruction and resisting arrest while Siers was charged with obstructing a police officer and resisting arrest; the suit adds both sets of charges were eventually dismissed. On June 20, 2020, S.S. bicycled back to her fathers home, heartbroken over the confrontation she had with the boy hours earlier. "The city of Loveland, the family continues to anxiously await answers to any of that." Garner was arrested in June 2020 after she left a local Walmart without paying for a T-shirt, soda, candy. His attorney says the injury required Sowl to undergo shoulder replacement surgery. The complaint goes on to say that Ticer and the LPD had a history of giving awards and recognition for high DUI arrests, including reporting the arrest numbers to agencies like Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The suit claims that once S.S. admitted to the slap, Wood, without warning, put his hands on her to begin an arrest by starting to put handcuffs on her, stating she was under arrest for assault. Create new account | My Profile | My Account | My Bookmarks | My Inbox | Help | Log in, Back to top Alert Link here Austin Hopp, the officer who threw Ms. Garner, pleaded guilty to assaulting her in March and was sentenced to five years in prison. It also includes a post from Overcash in February of 2021 congratulating two of the three officers involved in the incident for receiving awards from the department for actions in 2020, with Dunlap and Wood each receiving an Exemplary Action Ribbon for an undescribed reason. Subscribe to Colorado Politics today! Federal judge tosses man's excessive force lawsuit against Loveland police S.S. can be heard crying and yelling in the background. While S.S. tried to pull away from Wood and Dunlap, the suit claims, the officers violently assaulted her as they tried to get her in handcuffs, including slamming her body and limbs onto the concrete and against the brick wall while pushing their bodiesagainst her back. Loveland Police Department | City of Loveland - Loveland, Colorado Excess Force Suit Against Loveland Police Settled For $290,000 - CBS News Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today. The vast majority of cases named in the complaint also say the charges were dismissed. They have used this funding to buy themselves more equipment and hire more officers. MORE COVERAGE:NISP opponents sue Larimer County commissioners over permit approval. The release did not state what disciplinary or corrective action would be taken as a result of this internal investigation, just that any disciplinary actions would be taken in accordance with the conclusion and outcome of the IA., More:Colorado Supreme Court ruling makes more police internal investigations accessible. Loveland Police Department, via The Life & Liberty Law Office. 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The suit claims that at this time Siers noticed that his dogs were trying to protect him and his daughter and wanted to safely get them inside. According to the Associated Press, Garcia said the settlement states the city and officers do not admit any guilt in this case. The girl left on her bike, at which time the officers started calling the numbers of the girl and her father, and eventually went to their house to try to find them after calling for backup officers. The arrest startled her father, Jon Siers, who repeatedly told the officers that what they were doing was completely wrong, the lawsuit states. No wonder why you guys get a bad rap, Siers can be heard saying when Sychla returns to him on the ground. Officers Wood and Dunlap, who had asked for backup, arrived outside Mr. Sierss home later that day and asked to speak with his daughter. An excessive force lawsuit filed against the Loveland Police Department has been settled for nearly $300,000. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. $300K seems really low given the cost of the medical treatment and pain and suffereing. As this department has demonstrated in the past, we are not afraid to have outside experts look at our operations to suggest changes where they may be needed or confirm where we continue to excel, it said. Schielke also said she wanted to ensure the officers who were involved were held accountable and forced to change.. We ask the public to keep an open mind as we deal with claims that will ultimately be addressed in a court of law., The statement added that this is too important an issue for the health and safety of our community to ignore.. According to the lawsuit, when Siers got home after work he noticed all the missed calls and voicemails from officers who said they wanted to talk with his daughter. Schielkeis alsorepresenting Karen Garner and her family in an ongoing civil rights lawsuit against Loveland police. Karen Garner video: Colorado prosecutors launch criminal probe into I am confident that a thorough and impartial process was undertaken and appreciate the time and attention spent to review this matter, Adams said in the news release. And it claims that Dunlap and Wood arrested the girl without a warrant and used excessive force. that is degrading to another person. You are just minutes from Greenwood & Myers Mortuary is the first choice for many families when they are seeking funeral services in Boulder. All Rights Reserved. She added that while she is focusing on the LPD with this lawsuit, as it pertains to this specific department, she has heard from other attorneys that this is a problem across the country. Most notably the department became the center of international attention when Schielke released information on the June 2020 arrest of Karen Garner, a case that resulted in a $3 million settlement from the city of Loveland and a five-year prison sentence for Garners arresting officer. The suit claims that S.S. believed Hall had been cheating on her, so she summoned up the courage to confront him. During this interaction, the suit says, she demanded he return several items of her property and, after he said they had never been dating so he wasnt actually cheating on her, she slapped him and left on her bike, sobbing. The city said the findings of the latest review will be made public once it is complete. At one point in the interaction, Sowl can be heard telling Ashe, "I don't know what happened. RELATED: City of Loveland chooses firm to conduct independent review after arrest of Karen Garner, RELATED: Former Loveland officer faces assault charge, accused of writing inaccurate reports related to Karen Garner's arrest, RELATED: Karen Garner's family feels more 'concern than relief' after charges announced against officers. The city of Loveland and Loveland Police Department settled the lawsuit with Sowl in January for nearly $300,000. It is terrifying because we all have to drive, we all use the roads, and it shouldnt be that easy for an officer to destroy our lives and there needs to be consequences when they recklessly do so, she said. Nicole Yost, a spokeswoman for the city of Loveland, said she did not know who was representing the officers. Lawsuit alleges Loveland Police Department has pattern of - KMGH Eventually, Sychla deployed his Taser on Siers and continued to shock him for over five seconds, the lawsuit claims. You can send your story ideas to her at sswanson@coloradoan.com or on Twitter at @sadyswan. Even Chief Ticer himself assisted Hill with arresting and charging an innocent person with DUI, by providing a (Drug Recognition Expert) evaluation of the individual and declaring in his (Ticers) expert DRE opinion that the person was under the influence of cannabis.. Karen Garner, who has dementia, was arrested last June for walking out of a Walmart in Loveland, Colorado, with $13.88 worth of items, according to an amended lawsuit filed Sunday. The complaint also includes 20 instances from other residents claiming that they were wrongfully arrested; the complaint adds the ones listed were just some of arrests made by Hill and Gates. The Loveland Police Department officers had searched for the daughter, who is identified in the lawsuit only as S.S., after she slapped a boy in a Safeway supermarket parking lot because she believed he had been cheating on her with another girl, the lawsuit states. The city did not pay the demanded amount and the attorney subsequently released an edited version of the body-camera video to the public, the city said in a news release. Loveland Police Chief Ransom Karen Garner Settlement Update - Westword Last year, the city of Loveland paid a $3 million settlement to the woman, Karen Garner. Dutka, an active duty military member, was driving a rental car and did not realize a headlight was out.