Two former Loveland police officers will face criminal charges following the violent arrest of a 73-year-old woman with dementia, online court records show.
Prosecutors with the Eighth Judicial District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday filed charges against Austin Hopp and Daria Jalali, the officers who violently arrested Karen Garner in June after receiving a report that she tried to walk out of a Walmart with $13 of merchandise.
Hopp — the first officer to arrive on scene — faces charges of second-degree assault, attempt to influence a public servant and official misconduct, court records show. The assault and attempt to influence a public servant are felony charges and the official misconduct charge is a misdemeanor.
Prosecutors charged Jalali with three misdemeanors: failing to report excessive use of force, failure to intervene in an excessive use of force and official misconduct.
Eighth Judicial District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin is scheduled to discuss the criminal investigation into the officers’ conduct at a 1 p.m. news conference Wednesday. The prosecutor’s office did not immediately return calls for comment Wednesday morning.
Jalali, Hopp and Community Service Officer Tyler Blackett resigned from the department April 30, two weeks after Garner’s family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit over the arrest.
The officers fractured Garner’s arm during the arrest and dislocated her shoulder, the lawsuit states. Garner’s family says the woman never returned to normal after the arrest and has become largely noncommunicative.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
