#Loveland #Dementia #Police #Walmart
Newly-released video shows the moment an elderly woman with dementia was confronted by Walmart employees after forgetting to pay for her items and later walking home empty-handed, just moments before she was violently arrested by police.
Security footage obtained by DailyMail.com shows 73-year-old Karen Garner trying to walk out of a Loveland, Colorado Walmart last June after allegedly failing to pay for $13 worth of items: a soda, a candy bar, a T-shirt, and wipe refills.
Garner was stopped by staff and asked to return to the store where they were ultimately able to recover the unpaid merchandise.
Despite suffering no loss, Walmart reported the incident to police, who later located Garner picking flowers down the road and arrested her by slamming her to the ground, causing her to fracture her elbow and dislocate her shoulder.
Footage of the violent arrest went viral after its release earlier this month as part of a new lawsuit filed by Garner's family against the Loveland Police Department over violation of her civil rights. Four officers have been placed on administrative leave amid an investigation.
Attorney Sarah Schielke said forgetting to pay for items in stores is common among people with dementia and revealed Garner also suffers from sensory aphasia, which impairs her ability to communicate and understand what other people are saying.
Garner's impairment seems to be evident in store security footage which shows her apparently trying to dodge employees as they attempt to detain her at the exit.
In a 53-second inaudible clip, Garner is seen holding the unpaid items in her hand as she's confronted by a male employee who tries to block her from leaving.
The man attempts to direct her back into the store, but Garner appears to be uncooperative, prompting another employee to come and assist.
The two men eventually escort the grandmother back into the store where the items were retrieved.
Another video clip reveals Garner was actually stopped a second time while walking out of the store after the merchandise was returned.
In a 36-second clip, she is seen leaving the supermarket, this time empty-handed, as two men and a woman chase after her and try to detain her again.
Garner, who appears frazzled, manages to evade them and exits the store at a seemingly normal pace as the employees trail behind.
She is seen heading towards E 13th Street, near the 2600 block of Mountain Lion Drive, where she was eventually stopped by officer Austin Hopp.
The videos plus the lawsuit filed against Hopp, other officers and the city come amid a national reckoning over the use of force by police against people - including those with mental and physical health conditions.
Hopp, as well as three other officers targeted in the lawsuit, have been reassigned to administrative duties amid the investigation, the Loveland Police Department said.
According to the lawsuit, Walmart staff had called police to report Garner and told them the direction she walking, but said the store had not suffered a loss.
Police body camera footage showed Garner appeared visibly confused after being stopped by the officer, repeatedly telling him that she was going home.
In an amended complaint filed this week, Schielke said Garner had walked out of the store after being detained because she was unable to 'communicate' with staff or 'fully grasp what was going on'.
She claimed Hopp then responded to the call, but did not 'talk to anyone at Walmart first' or request any additional information.
'Instead he just went looking for a petite elderly lady walking eastbound in a neighborhood next to Walmart, as had been described by Walmart employees to dispatch,' the lawsuit states.
Hopp located Garner a quarter mile away from the store, 'walking peaceably in a field' and 'picking wildflowers' as she headed to her apartment.
'Her walking pace was slow and unhurried,' Schielke said in court papers.
In an affidavit of the warrantless arrest obtained by DailyMail.com, Hopp said he found the woman shortly after she 'fled on foot' and activated his emergency lights to get her to stop.
