Police resign after breaking the arm of woman with dementia, laughing at the footage

Three police officers who broke the arm of a woman with dementia, and were later caught laughing about the incident, have resigned. 

In June 2020, 73-year-old Karen Garner was violently arrested by police in Colorado after forgetting to pay for $14 US worth of items from a Walmart store.

Police bodycam footage of the incident shows police approaching her as she walks along the side of the road, and after a short interaction the slightly built and visibly confused woman had her arms bent behind her back and was shoved to the ground.

Police then slammed her against their vehicle, all of which caused serious injuries to Garner, including a broken bone in her arm and a dislocated shoulder.

Officers were later captured on CCTV rewatching the arrest and laughing and joking at the "pop" noises that occured as they manhandled Garner.

Police chief, Robert L. Ticer, said that two police officers who had arrested Garner, as well as a community service officer were “no longer employed” by the Loveland Police Department, reported the New York Times. A city spokesman later clarified that the officers had resigned.

Other supervising officers have been placed on administrative leave.

In all, five officers have been named in a federal lawsuit filed by Garner, which claims violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act and alleges use of excessive force and failure to provide medical care.

The lawsuit claims that Garner suffers from sensory aphasia, and she therefore struggles to communicate and understand what other people are saying, which is why she forgot to pay for her items, reported The Independent.

The lawsuit also claims that no one sought medical help for her until about six hours after she was arrested.

“What little freedom and happiness Ms Garner enjoyed in her life as an elderly adult with declining mental health was, on 26 June 2020, recklessly and deliberately obliterated by the Loveland Police Department,” the lawsuit said.

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