Karen Garner Arrest: 2 Former Loveland Police Officers, Austin Hopp, Daria Jalali, Face Charges
LOVELAND, Colo. (CBS4)- Two former Loveland police officers are facing charges relating to the arrest of Karen Garner last summer. Austin Hopp and Daria Jalali are facing charges related to the 73-year-old's arrest in June 2020.
Garner is living with dementia and experienced a broken arm, separated shoulder and sprained wrist during the arrest.
Hopp is facing charges of felony assault, causing serious bodily injury, attempting to influence a public servant, and misconduct. Jalali is facing charges of failing to report use of force, failing to intervene and misconduct.
Both Hopp and Jalali resigned April 30 along with officer Tyler Blackett, who was not charged.
Loveland Police Chief Robert Ticer announced his support for the criminal charges on Wednesday afternoon.
"I fully support the charges brought against these two individuals regarding their interactions with Ms. Garner," Ticer said. "We understand the desire for accountability and justice and we are seeing that today for Ms. Garner with the charges being filed. Our department will continue to cooperate with any criminal investigation into this matter. We understand the severity of this incident and as such I have requested, in addition to the criminal proceedings, an independent, third-party internal affairs investigation overseen by the City's Human Resources Department. That investigation will begin immediately."
Garner's family has filed a lawsuit after her arrest last summer.
Ticer also said that police officers in the department are undergoing Alzheimer's awareness training, "This began within a week of my learning about how Ms. Garner was treated. Second, starting next month, we will begin instituting additional de-escalation training. When officers get the opportunity to rely on time and distance to slow down encounters with the public, and can do it safely so that everyone benefits, we want to take advantage of those opportunities. Third, since the first of the year, an Assistant City Attorney now sits within police headquarters to help review all use of force cases dating back to 2019, as well as all use of force cases moving forward."
Hopp was employed with the Loveland Police Department for one year and Jalali for three years. Blackett served in a civilian role for two years before his departure. Sgt. Phil Metzler was Hopp's and Jalali's supervisor and he remains on administrative leave pending the findings of the independent, third-party internal affairs investigation.
