“On June 26, 2020, a Loveland, Colorado cop violently arrested a frail, elderly, confused woman, breaking her bones,” I posted here on April 17, 2021, continuing, “Karen Garner, 73, who suffers from dementia, had wandered away from her family to a nearby Walmart store, picked up $13.88 of merchandise, and walked out.”
As I wrote in that post, “Store employees ‘stopped Garner when she stepped outside the store, reclaimed the items, denied her attempts to pay for them and called the police,’ according to a Denver TV station (see story here).”
While she was walking home, three cops chased her down, tackled her, and arrested her. Subsequently, those cops were fired and two were criminally charged, as I posted here on May 19, 2021.
Garner’s family sued the City of Loveland, and on September 8, 2021, the city agreed to pay her $3 million. Read that story here.
The headline I wrote for one of those posts asked, “America’s worst police department?” Today, I’d say probably not, that’s more likely the Aurora, Colorado, police department. Aurora is a Denver suburb; Loveland is farther north, near the state line with Wyoming. I can’t tell you why Colorado has such bad police. Maybe it’s the altitude.
In any case, we live at a time when a single screwup by stupid cops can cost taxpayers millions, not to mention endangering citizens’ lives and limbs. This country simply must do a better job of screening police applicants, training recruits, and supervising cops on the beat. Police agencies need more accountability to the communities they serve, and it has to become easier to fire bad cops and prevent them from being hired by other police agencies.
Otherwise, the atrocities and expensive legal settlements will just keep piling up.
Update (3/2/22): Garner’s family is objecting to a plea deal that could keep one of the cops out of prison (story here).
Update (5/5/2022): The cop who entered the plea deal got 5 years in prison and 3 years of parole (story here).