You can send your story ideas to her at sswanson@coloradoan.com or on Twitter at @sadyswan. When the arrest begins, Siers can be seen in the video yelling at Sychla and the other officers that they cant arrest his daughter; all the while the familys two dogs can be heard barking continuously in the background. The federal lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, alleged Sowls' First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments were violated, according to a news release fromSchielke. I'm not talking to nobody.". Ashe arrested Sowl for obstruction of justice and resisting arrest, but the 8th Judicial District Attorney's Office dismissed the charges, according to the lawsuit. He also claimed the encounter demonstrated a "serious training issue" with the Loveland Police Department. Even Chief Ticer himself assisted Hill with arresting and charging an innocent person with DUI, by providing a (Drug Recognition Expert) evaluation of the individual and declaring in his (Ticers) expert DRE opinion that the person was under the influence of cannabis.. Schielkeis alsorepresenting Karen Garner and her family in an ongoing civil rights lawsuit against Loveland police. Police were . An internal review determined the officer was not justified in arresting a witness who refused to answer his questions. Hill said she could smell alcohol in Dutkas vehicle, which Dutka explained was due to a drunk friend whom she had driven home. I feel that there needs to be a change in law enforcement, Mr. Siers said. To always use Standard format on my mobile device: Go to My Account, About | Copyright | Privacy | Terms of service | Contact. Before coming to Loveland, he graduated from Colorado State University in May 2020 with two bachelor's degrees, one in journalism and media communications and one in history. Police video shows officers joking about violent arrest of Colorado Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way, brought in to assess the Loveland Police Department. The report said Ashe and two other officers took the man to the ground and arrested him for obstructing a police officer and resisting arrest, injuring his shoulder. Loveland Police Chief Ransom Karen Garner Settlement Update - Westword Another officer, according to Talmadge, slammed him to the ground where his "head bounced off the concrete." Victim Receives $290K Settlement | The Bexar County Jail In a news release and in discussions with the Reporter-Herald, Schielke described the arrest as senseless and needless violence. (Courtesy of the Life and Liberty Law Office) The suit adds that, per. He began to place handcuffs on her, which were too large for the 14-year-olds small wrists, making it easy to slip out of, Ms. Schielke said. Colorado Police Officer Sued for 'Recklessly' Shooting Family Dog The next thing Talmadge recalled was being at the hospital. Loveland is not a safe place for grandparents. The dog was later taken to live with a family out of state because he became extremely aggressive with every stranger after the police encounter, according to the lawsuit. Our interviews with LPD staff revealed that they would like to be more involved with community members and community organizations, but do not have time to engage in these activities or problem solving because of the Departments emphasis on its data-driven strategies and the need to produce daily numbers of enforcement actions, the complaint quotes from the report. Schielke filed a 52-page lawsuit Wednesday accusing Officer Hopp, Officer Daria Jalali, Sgt. While all cases referred to each person only with initials and no full names, stories mirrored what Elias went through in early 2020. LOVELAND, Colo. (AP) - An excessive force lawsuit filed against the city of Loveland and four of its police officers has been settled for $290,000. Berlin germany police motorcycles Stock Photos and Images - Alamy The Loveland Police Department officers had searched for the daughter, who is identified in the lawsuit only as S.S., after she slapped a boy in a Safeway supermarket parking lot because she believed he had been cheating on her with another girl, the lawsuit states. Sierss daughter tried to get to her dad, but officers continued to try to put her into handcuffs. Antolina Hill as one of the defendants as well as including a number of other stories alleging wrongful DUI arrest and information on the culture of the LPDs DUI enforcement. A consulting firm that the city of Loveland brought in to assess the Loveland Police Department last year amid several lawsuits filed over officers use of force in different cases is coming in to look at another case in which LPD officers are alleged to have used excessive force against a man, his teenage daughter, and their dog. The lawsuit alleges Metzler intimidated and bullied the witness and deactivated his body-worn camera during the interaction to cover up the use of excessive force. Threats of harming another Shes a good kid.. A consulting firm that the city of Loveland brought in to assess the Loveland Police Department last year amid several lawsuits filed over officers' use of f. Share with Us. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism The lawsuit claims Sychla arrested Siers without a warrant and used excessive force against him, and violated the Dog Protection Act when he allegedly choked the dog. The boy, who denied that he cheated, declined to press charges, according to body camera footage of him speaking with the officers, which was released Wednesday by the familys lawyer, Sarah Schielke. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. The city, in response, said it will conduct an independent review and maintained that it is committed to accountability. Skippy can be seen in the video trying to pull its way over to him. Anyone can read what you share. Don't knowingly lie about anyone The officers asked him to call his daughter outside, saying they just wanted to talk to her. Schielkeis alsorepresenting Karen Garner and her family in an ongoing civil rights lawsuit against Loveland police. Sychla handcuffed Siers, who was still pleading to have officers let him take his dog inside. At one point in the interaction, Sowl can be heard telling Ashe, I dont know what happened. Ashe arrested Sowl for obstruction of justice and resisting arrest, but the 8th Judicial District Attorneys Office dismissed the charges, according to the lawsuit. I bet at this point Loveland wishes each of these events could involve the same officers, she said. While the witness was being uncooperative, the IA (internal affairs) reports that there was not probable cause to arrest Sowl, aFriday news release from the city of Loveland stated. All Rights Reserved. Talmadge's roommate continued to remain in the home, allegedly telling Talmadge: "You will leave before I do.". Loveland is not a safe place for pets. Sarah Schielke files amended wrongful DUI suit against LPD officers Beyond excessive use of force incidents, the department has faced scrutiny for several other incidents, including the shooting and killing of a 19-year-old boy in 2021 and a dog in 2019, as well as criticism over alleged wrongful DUI arrests. Really it's a testament to how bad things are at Loveland is that they know they're being recorded, and they don't change their behavior, because they just don't care, Schielke said in an interview. The release added the findings from this review will be made public when the investigation is completed. The city said the findings of the latest review will be made public once it is complete. Photo: Paul Zinken. Karen Garner arrest: Video shows Colorado police officers - CNN The city hired Jensen Hughes in 2021 to lead an independent investigation into the departments policies and procedures following the release of information about Garners arrest. As for the claim of unlawful arrest, Varholak explained that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision inHeck v. Humphreyprevents criminal defendants from suing for monetary damages over unconstitutional imprisonment unless their conviction is overturned. Without intervention, this self-serving scam will continue and the wake of innocent citizens whose lives are destroyed by it will continue to grow.. The suit claims that S.S. was arrested and charged with harassment, domestic violence, obstruction and resisting arrest while Siers was charged with obstructing a police officer and resisting arrest; the suit adds both sets of charges were eventually dismissed. Emergency medical personnel arrived, along with police officers from the Loveland Police Department. person will not be tolerated. The Loveland City Attorney's Office did not respond to a request for comment as of Thursday afternoon. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. During this, the suit claims, S.S. began screaming while suffering from a panic attack. The release did not state what disciplinary or corrective action would be taken as a result of this internal investigation, just that any disciplinary actions would be taken in accordance with the conclusion and outcome of the IA., More:Colorado Supreme Court ruling makes more police internal investigations accessible. Loveland police officers sued over alleged excessive force involving By: Colette Bordelon Posted at 7:17 PM, Mar 31, 2022 and last updated 6:17 PM, Mar 31, 2022 Colorado Politics is published both in print and online. He submitted to another breath test at the station on a certified Intoxilyzer machine and blew a 0.028%. In Talmadge's narrative of events, he attempted to eject his roommate from his Loveland home on July 6, 2019, but the roommate refused and instead called police to the home. Thank you for visiting. Both videos can be found on the Life and Liberty Law Office YouTube page. Colorado Supreme Court ruling makes more police internal investigations accessible. You know, it's just, it's horrifying, terrifying, Siers said in an interview Wednesday. Get on the ground, an officer yells, pointing a Taser at Mr. Siers and then firing it. We ask the public to keep an open mind as we deal with claims that will ultimately be addressed in a court of law., The statement added that this is too important an issue for the health and safety of our community to ignore.. The complaint later stated that, in 2019, Gates initiated 1,622 traffic stops while the average total number of stops from other LPD patrol officers working similar shifts in 2019 was 200 to 400 a year. In Ticer's presentation to the. Whether movers in Fort Collins are helping you Austin Fleskes joined the Reporter-Herald team in August 2020 as the newsroom's public safety reporter. Man sues Loveland Police Department alleging excessive force The city said Ashe violated three department policies and procedures: limits of authority and exercise discretion; search and seizure; and use of force. Schielke said the names used in the suit were gained from a records request made to the LPD and, out of respect for each persons privacy, she did not include their full names with the exception of one person. You can send your story ideas to her at sswanson@coloradoan.com or on Twitter at @sadyswan. The case was settled for $290,000, City Attorney Moses Garcia said. It also includes a post from Overcash in February of 2021 congratulating two of the three officers involved in the incident for receiving awards from the department for actions in 2020, with Dunlap and Wood each receiving an Exemplary Action Ribbon for an undescribed reason. Loveland Police Department is located at 810 E 10th Street, Loveland, CO 80537 map Lobby hours: Monday through Friday 8am-5pm The LPD lobby is a safe place for online sales transactions and custody exchanges. In fact, we already know that some of the allegations being made are inaccurate and do not describe the professionalism and respect shown by our officers to the individual involved. On a form that asked the boy if the actions of S.S. caused him pain, he marked, No., It was the middle of the day and there was little else to do, the lawsuit states, adding that the officers were bored.. It also included that 1,352 of the drivers he pulled over 84% of his stops were let off with just a warning. She said that her hope with the filing of this amended lawsuit is to address problems she sees in how the LPD operates its DUI enforcement, focusing on her concern with incentives given to officers to arrest and charge citizens. Living at Kimberly Court can seem like living in the most convenient location in Boulder. Fort Collins man sues Loveland police officer, alleges wrongful DUI arrest In police station surveillance video released on Monday by an attorney for Karen Garner's family, three Loveland police officers can be seen reviewing body-cam film of the arrest - footage. According to a complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Denver on behalf of Preston Sowl, 60, by attorney Sarah Schielke, Sowl and his wife were leaving Charlie L's Pub with some friends on. Watch the body camera footage here According. Schielkeis alsorepresenting Karen Garner and her family in an ongoing civil rights lawsuit against Loveland police. The citys statement that it was hiring the consulting firm came after attorney Sarah Schielke filed a lawsuit against the city over the ordeal involving the girl, her father and their dog. A civil lawsuit filed in Larimer County District Court accuses Loveland police officer Mat Grashorn of "recklessly killing" Wendy Love and her husband Jay Hamm's 14-month-old dog, a. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. The suit, filed in the 8th Judicial District Court on Wednesday morning, lists three claims for relief: unreasonable seizure and excessive force resulting in the abuse of their dog Skippy and wrongful arrest of Siers by Sychla; violation of due process and malicious prosecution of Siers by Sychla; and unreasonable seizure and excessive force with an arrest of S.S. by Wood and Dunlap. The suit adds that the slap did not cause Hall injury or even leave a mark, with video showing him telling officers that it only stung. Member subscribers also receive the weekly print edition of our award-winning newspaper, containing outstanding features and news stories, in their mailboxes every Saturday. 2023 www.coloradoan.com. Don't Threaten. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. At the Safeway parking lot, Officers Wood and Dunlap were collecting witness statements and asking the boy to fill out a form describing the slap, the lawsuit states. "It is long-established that a citizen cannot be charged with obstruction (or any crime) for merely refusing to answer police questioning," Sowl's attorney Sarah Schielke said in a news release at the time the lawsuit was filed in June 2020. His two dogs Montana, a chihuahua, and Skippy, a Jack Russell terrier were on long leashes outside the house. According to the report of an internal. 3 min read. It claims Sychla unreasonably and wrongfully arrested Siers and used excessive force against him and his dog, and also that Sychla committed malicious prosecution in arresting and forwarding charges against Siers to prosecutors. Schielke indeed did release the video on YouTube, as well as the lawsuit she said was filed Wednesday in Larimer County District Court on behalf of Jon Siers and his daughter. It is important to stress that this process is not an acknowledgement as to the validity or accuracy of the specific complaints made by certain individuals about our DUI program, the statement said. The back-to-back violent arrests point to a toxic cultural problem that cant be resolved by cherry-picking off the officer, Ms. Schielke said. Something like "Redefine the Police" might have been better. "Being a defendant in civil rights litigation is stressful, time-consuming, and especially in the case of law enforcement, detracts from everyday duties to the public," lawyers for the defendants wrote. A screen capture from body-worn camera video of Karen Garner's 2020 arrest and a portrait of Loveland Police Chief Bob Ticer. "Accordingly, Plaintiffs illegal arrest claim is barred by Heck.". While S.S. tried to pull away from Wood and Dunlap, the suit claims, the officers violently assaulted her as they tried to get her in handcuffs, including slamming her body and limbs onto the concrete and against the brick wall while pushing their bodiesagainst her back. The investigation offered a positive review on many of the departments policies and practices along with critiques on how to improve in the areas in which it was lacking. 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We hope you will find useful information in the links on the left. He called his daughter out of the house, and according to the lawsuit, Officer Wood started to arrest his daughter as soon as she admitted to slapping the 18-year-old, which the suit says went against LPD policy of not arresting children 14 and under unless they are believed to have committed a dangerous felony.. And that starts with getting rid of every supervisor at LPD who approved of the violence in this video, she said. Following multiple pleas from Siers to put the dogs inside, Sychla can be seen approaching Skippy and picking him up by the leash and carrying him toward the door, dangling several feet above the ground by his neck. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today. Colorado city to pay $3M settlement over Karen Garner arrest - USA TODAY Video shows Colorado police officers laughing over bodycam footage of The roommate then exited the house and Talmadge soon received a call from police asking him to step outside. The complaint also claims that around this time Hill and Ticer learned that some of Gates DUI arrests were wrongful arrests because blood and breath results were coming back showing people were not impaired. I was helpless watching my daughter getting manhandled by three other police officers. Wood was in field training at the time, according to the lawsuit, which says that Dunlap decided to use this childs slap as a chance for Officer Wood to get more experience practicing a domestic violence arrest.. Loveland police officers sued over alleged excessive force - YouTube Loveland police say they didn't know officers injured an elderly woman The vast majority of cases named in the complaint also say the charges were dismissed. She had been dating 18-year-old Elijah Hall and, around lunchtime on June 20, 2020, she rode her bike to the nearby Safeway where she found Hall with another woman. According to the lawsuit, when Siers got home after work he noticed all the missed calls and voicemails from officers who said they wanted to talk with his daughter. Colorado Portal and News | Denverok.com, Colorado Portal | News | Classifieds | Cars. She said that without someone standing up to call out the pattern of violent conduct and complete disrespect for this community, nothing is going to change. Loveland police face excessive force lawsuit for 2020 arrest of father Loveland Police Officer Resorts to Excessive Force She pretty much sticks to herself, stays at home, stays out of trouble, he said. ( Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. Chief Ticer and Sergeant Hill did not care about these poor innocent people Gates was victimizing without consequence, the complaint said. Officer Paul Ashe detained Preston Sowl after Sowl refused to answer his questions about a motorcycle crash Sowl witnessed outside a Loveland bar Sept. 22, 2019. Loveland Police officers sued after arrest of teen, tasing of father The video ends by pointing some blame at the elected officials in Loveland who have supported the LPD and its officers, including clips of previous and unrelated statements from Mayor Pro Tem Don Overcash and councilors Pat McFall and John Fogle. A federal judge has dismissed a man's lawsuit against the city of Loveland and multiple police officers that alleged excessive force and unlawful arrest. In their motion to dismiss, the defendants submitted a police affidavit in support of Talmadge's arrest from July 6. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. I was scared. The event also allegedly changed Skippys entire demeanor; he became extremely aggressive with every stranger to come near the Siers home and eventually had to be rehomed to family out of state. Loveland officer involved in Karen Garner case resigns - FOX31 Denver It was unclear if the officers had lawyers, and the Loveland Police Department did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment on Thursday. "The city of Loveland, the family continues to anxiously await answers to any of that." Garner was arrested in June 2020 after she left a local Walmart without paying for a T-shirt, soda, candy. I was helpless. Karen Garner, who has dementia, was arrested last June for walking out of a Walmart in Loveland, Colorado, with $13.88 worth of items, according to an amended lawsuit filed Sunday. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Secure your subscription to Colorados premier political news journal, in continuous publication since 1898. It also included information on timed DUI arrest competitions put on by MADD that LPD is a part of. All the investigation and work we were putting in to get a peek at the tip of the iceberg was taking forever, she said.