Threats of harming another Watching what they do to this family on this video has to be unsettling and terrifying for any parent in this town because there is no common sense utilized and there is no interest in the damage being inflicted to, here, a juvenile.. But the investigation determined the witness had not committed a crime and the officer was not justified in arresting him, according to an internal memo from Police Chief Robert Tice dated May 7. The lawsuit, filed against officers Ashe, DeLima, Schnorr and Brian Bartnes, alleges that police violated Sowl's First and Fourth Amendment rights, and that the city of Loveland violated his. 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. Following Schielkes early Wednesday release, the city published its own response to the event, stating that it will have Jensen Hughes conduct an independent investigation of the incident. You are just minutes from Greenwood & Myers Mortuary is the first choice for many families when they are seeking funeral services in Boulder. COLORADO DOCUMENTARY PROJECT Speak out! The report said Officer Paul Ashe asked a witness what happened, and the witness told him where the motorcycle was and said he had helped pull the motorcycle off the rider. Living at Kimberly Court can seem like living in the most convenient location in Boulder. led to a $3 million settlement last year. The suit claims that Siers and S.S. are seeking declaratory relief and economic damages as well as compensatory damages, among other things, through a jury trial. Schielke said this incident along with others in the past show that there is a theme of issues within department leadership. The officers asked him to call his daughter outside, saying they just wanted to talk to her. The city said the findings of the latest review will be made public once it is complete. "Indeed, the Amended Complaint lacks even a single allegation of how any specific officer touched Mr. Talmadge or engaged in force that was in excess of what was required to arrest him.". 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. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Thank you for visiting. As this department has demonstrated in the past, we are not afraid to have outside experts look at our operations to suggest changes where they may be needed or confirm where we continue to excel, it said. His attorney says the injury required Sowl to undergo shoulder replacement surgery. Another officer, according to Talmadge, slammed him to the ground where his "head bounced off the concrete." NISP opponents sue Larimer County commissioners over permit approval, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. I felt helpless just watching them manhandle my daughter the way they did.. "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. "Plaintiff was arrested on charges of third degree assault and resisting arrest and a jury convicted him of those charges," Varholak wrote in a May 19 order. Sowl said he needed shoulder replacement surgery after the incident. At one point in the interaction, Sowl can be heard telling Ashe, "I don't know what happened. 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.. 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. Sady Swanson covers public safety, criminal justice, Larimer County governmentand more throughout Northern Colorado. 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. The suit claims Sychla also attempted to conduct a hold maneuver to stop Siers, an attempt that was unsuccessful. According to the report of an internal. 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. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The case was settled for $290,000, City Attorney Moses Garcia said. Although Christopher Talmadge claimed that he was nonviolent and "minding his own business" when police reportedly slammed his head into his driveway, the city pointed to an affidavit the night of Talmadge's arrest indicating that he had assaulted his roommate and resisted officers. Loveland is not a safe place for grandparents. Following the footage of the arrest the video stated that the event was reviewed by LPD chain of command and deemed reasonable and justified.. We hope you will find useful information in the links on the left. Eventually, Sychla deployed his Taser on Siers and continued to shock him for over five seconds, the lawsuit claims. The complaint adds that the LPD often posted about their victories in these absurd arrest competitions on social media, continually reaffirming to all Loveland police officers that DUI arrests are valued over all else, especially citizens constitutional rights., LPD has obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars of grant funding for themselves as a result of their DUI arrest numbers, the complaint said. A Loveland, Colorado, police officer is on administrative leave and two other officers have been reassigned to administrative duties after a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging excessive use of . Photo: Paul Zinken. Emergency medical personnel arrived, along with police officers from the Loveland Police Department. According to the lawsuit, Siers was aware an LPD officer had shot and killed a familys dog in the past year (which Schielke also filed suit over) and wanted to take the dog inside so it was not shot if it bit one of the officers. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The. The release by Loveland corroborated Schielkes claims, stating that more than a month ago an attorney representing the family involved made a request to settle the claims with a four-day time frame to pay for damages, which the city declined. 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. DENVER OK is your Colorado news, entertainment, music & fashion website. Loveland Police Officer Resorts to Excessive Force The accident turned out to be a man losing his balance on his motorcycle and falling over. 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. While both Siers and S.S. can be heard screaming to not choke my dog, Sychla responds by saying he is a K-9 officer. Ashe detained Sowl for not answering his questions, twisting his arm behind his back and pushing his face into the ground. Sychla handcuffed Siers, who was still pleading to have officers let him take his dog inside. that is degrading to another person. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, I couldn't do anything. He first blew a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.000%, the complaint says, and later that night Elias was given a blood test that eventually came back negative. Time for the same rules to apply to police, https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2021/01/28/loveland-police-settle-excessive-force-lawsuit-290-k/4294396001/, This cops are always repeat offenders and they keep getting assigned to patrolling citizens, Good. A Loveland law office has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Loveland Police Department and the officers involved in Garner's arrest after it allegedly caused a fractured and dislocated shoulder along with other injuries. Mr. Siers then asked the officers to stop, saying she was just a child. And that starts with getting rid of every supervisor at LPD who approved of the violence in this video, she said. When S.S. admitted to them that she had slapped the boy, Officer Wood said that she was under arrest, the lawsuit states. Police said the witness then said he had not pulled the motorcycle off the rider and refused to answer any more questions, saying it was his constitutional right not to talk. 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. Create new account | My Profile | My Account | My Bookmarks | My Inbox | Help | Log in, Back to top Alert Link here 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, Colo. (AP) - An excessive force lawsuit filed against the city of Loveland and four of its police officers has been settled for $290,000. Reach him at afleskes@prairiemountainmedia.com or on Twitter @Austinfleskes07. One of them, a Jack Russell terrier, started barking at the officers when they were trying to get the daughter into handcuffs. "Force is not reasonable when a suspect is non-violent, not resisting, not fleeing, or poses no threat.". Last year, the city of Loveland paid a $3 million settlement to the woman, Karen Garner. Mr. Siers and his lawyer said they would not accept a settlement and expected to take the case to a jury. 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.. According to the complaint, Emily Dutka, who had previously gone public about her arrest, was pulled over by Hill in May of 2020. I was getting my dog, Siers can be heard screaming in the video. January 27, 2021 / 4:46 PM 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. The guy was probably arguing unnecessarily, and probably not a liberal at all but he was right in this case. The city said Ashe violated three department policies and procedures: limits of authority and exercise discretion; search and seizure; and use of force. According to the lawsuit, the girl had confronted an 18-year-old she had been dating in the parking lot of a Safeway over him allegedly cheating on her with another girl or woman. Use the 'Report' link on That night Gates pulled Elias over in Fort Collins and, ultimately, Gates arrested Elias for DUI. We provide you with the latest news and videos straight from the Mile High City! Loveland Police Department officers Jeremiah Wood and Evan Dunlap arrest a 14-year-old girl in Loveland in June of 2020. Most notably the department became the center of international attention when Schielke released information on the June 2020 arrest of Karen Garner, a case that resulted in a $3 million settlement from the city of Loveland and a five-year prison sentence for Garners arresting officer. Be Truthful. They were both also making their very own wrongful DUI arrests during this time. but it can also be stressful. Philip Metzler and the City of Loveland of excessive force and violation of the Americans With . It was unclear if the officers had lawyers, and the Loveland Police Department did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment on Thursday. Subscribe to Colorado Politics today! Sady Swanson covers public safety, criminal justice, Larimer County governmentand more throughout Northern Colorado. He also claimed the encounter demonstrated a "serious training issue" with the Loveland Police Department. Thank you for your interest in the Loveland Police Department. All Rights Reserved. And why would they? The complaint claims Gates said he could smell alcohol coming from the vehicle and that K.S. During a press conference held Monday, Deputy Chief and soon-to-be Interim Chief Eric Stewart said that decision came after the department received criticism of former DUI cases, adding the critics are members of a defense bar who represent drivers who were charged and some who ultimately passed blood tests following DUI arrests; he did not say exactly who the critics were and said he could not comment on specific incidents. Talmadge allegedly told responding officers what had happened and they left. 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. 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. Schielke and Sowl were not able to answer any additional questions about the settlementdue to the agreement with Loveland, according to the news release. Siers had his two dogs outside on leashes at the home, according to the suit. Excess Force Suit Against Loveland Police Settled For $290,000 January 27, 2021 / 4:46 PM / CBS Colorado LOVELAND, Colo. (AP) - An excessive force lawsuit filed against the city of. 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. The city, in response, said it will conduct an independent review and maintained that it is committed to accountability. The city said Ashe violated three department policies and procedures:. The department also faced an excessive use of force suit for the 2019 arrest of Preston Sowl, which was settled by the city for $290,000. I was mad. Four officers were there in total, the lawsuit states. Im not talking to nobody.. "The settlement ends the continuation of lengthy and expensive litigation, and resolution is deemed to be in the best interest of all parties,"Schielke said in the release. In a news release and in discussions with the Reporter-Herald, Schielke described the arrest as senseless and needless violence. 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 video below is police bodycam footage from the incident. By Keith Coffman. You can send your story ideas to her at sswanson@coloradoan.com or on Twitter at @sadyswan. I am confident that a thorough and impartial process was undertaken and appreciate the time and attention spent to review this matter, Adams said in the news release. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Defund the police was the wrong slogan. An officer can be seen placing Skippy inside the house; the lawsuit states that Officer Sychla kicked him in the face before closing the door. DENVER, Sept 8 (Reuters) - The city of Loveland, Colorado, has agreed to pay $3 million to an elderly woman with dementia who suffered a dislocated shoulder and broken arm while . Police were . Sowls arrest in September 2019 was capturedon body camera footage, released by Sowls attorney Sarah Schielke. 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. The city said Ashe violated three department policies and procedures: limits of authority and exercise discretion; search and seizure; and use of force. According to the suit, the event caused emotional and physical trauma to not only Siers and S.S. but also Skippy. Loveland is not a safe place for pets. 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 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. The city also released its own video with footage from the incident from Sychlas body-worn camera, which includes the incident itself as well as Siers arrest and discussion with Sychla. Sowl said he needed shoulder replacement surgery after the incident. View this page in Standard (full site) format. The Loveland Police Department was hit with many negative headlines related to the rough arrest of Karen Garner, a 73-year-old suffering from dementia who's only five feet tall and weighs. $300K seems really low given the cost of the medical treatment and pain and suffereing. (Courtesy of the Life and Liberty Law Office) The suit adds that, per. 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. With more equipment and more officers, they are able to make more arrests and then point to those arrest stats as proof of rising crime levels that they then proclaim requires more funding, equipment and officers to solve. The lawsuit says the girl, Siers and the dog have all suffered since the ordeal that day and that the dog has become extremely aggressive with every stranger.. By law, if I see an OSHA violation and fail to act,I can be held personally responsible. This includes several pictures of Facebook posts showing Gates or Hill being awarded for their DUI enforcement work. "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. 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. Nicole Yost, a spokeswoman for the city of Loveland, said she did not know who was representing the officers. In a written response reflecting many points Stewart said during Mondays press conference, the department said it can not comment on specific cases and wants to be transparent and open in our work.. The lawsuit states that Officers Wood and Dunlap slammed her into the concrete stairway outside the home and pushed her against a brick wall. The suit says the girl suffered cuts, scrapes, bruises and a concussion during the ordeal. In the suit, Schielke is asking for declaratory and injunctive relief, compensatory, punitive or exemplary damages, and attorneys fees and costs. An excessive force lawsuit filed against the Loveland Police Department has been settled for nearly $300,000. Sady Swanson covers public safety, K-12 education and more throughout Northern Colorado. When the officers arrived, the suit says, Siers was found in front of the house working on S.S.s bike. This is not a bad apples event, it is the whole tree.. The lawsuit alleged that Sowl declined to provide more information when asked and was injured while being detained. Let there be no mistake: Loveland is not a safe place for children. The city announced Tuesday it was again bringing in Jensen Hughes to review the latest incident, which happened on June 20, 2020, and involved a 14-year-old Loveland girl who was accused by police of domestic violence after she slapped her boyfriend, as well as the girls father, who was tased by an officer while trying to remove his dog from the scene. His two dogs Montana, a chihuahua, and Skippy, a Jack Russell terrier were on long leashes outside the house. A civil lawsuit was filed against the Loveland Police Department and City of Loveland after a police officer shot a couple's 14-month-old dog. Watching my daughter go through this, I mean, I was terrified, Mr. Siers said by phone on Thursday. Ashe twisted Sowls arm behind his back and pushed his face into the ground, according to a civil rights lawsuit. Sierss daughter tried to get to her dad, but officers continued to try to put her into handcuffs. I've never been in a situation quite like that before, Siers said. She begged the officers to let her grab a tampon, but they told her no, causing her to flail and then collapse on the ground in tears, the lawsuit states. In Ticer's presentation to the. Garner's arrest drew national attention after body camera footage released by her family's lawyer showed former Loveland Police Department officer Austin Hopp forcibly detain the then. 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. 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. While in the parking space, Sychla pulled out a stun gun and, after Siers began to walk toward him, fired it, hitting Siers in the stomach and causing him to collapse. I was helpless. A lawsuit filed by a Fort Collins man accuses a Loveland police officer of wrongfully arresting him on suspicion of driving under the influence in January 2020. 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. LOVELAND, Colo. (KDVR) A Loveland police officer involved in the forceful arrest of Karen Garner resigned on Wednesday following an independent investigation by a consulting firm.. The first roughly 21 pages share Elias story of his arrest the night of Jan. 4, 2020. arrested him for refusing to answer questions as a witness about a motorcycle crash outside a Loveland bar Sept. 22,2019. Schielkeis alsorepresenting Karen Garner and her family in an ongoing civil rights lawsuit against Loveland police. The suit claims that at this time Siers noticed that his dogs were trying to protect him and his daughter and wanted to safely get them inside. Without intervention, this self-serving scam will continue and the wake of innocent citizens whose lives are destroyed by it will continue to grow.. They had yelled at each other, which caused someone to call the police, according to the lawsuit. Were not (going to) shoot your dog; knock it off, Sychla can be heard saying. Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. The roommate then exited the house and Talmadge soon received a call from police asking him to step outside. The suit claims that S.S. believed Hall had been cheating on her, so she summoned up the courage to confront him. During this interaction, the suit says, she demanded he return several items of her property and, after he said they had never been dating so he wasnt actually cheating on her, she slapped him and left on her bike, sobbing. The suit also claims Sychla falsified and exaggerated facts in the police report involving Siers. person will not be tolerated. After going through roadside tests Hill arrested Dutka and took her for a blood test. We'd love to hear eyewitness Example video title will go here for this video. 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. The amended complaint, which Schielke filed to the United States District Court in Denver Thursday, has the same three claims but comes with several notable additions, including naming Sgt. He told her they were not in a relationship, according to the suit, and the girl got upset and slapped him. Watch the body camera footage here According. You can send your story ideas to her at sswanson@coloradoan.com or on Twitter at @sadyswan. Colorado Supreme Court ruling makes more police internal investigations accessible. The Loveland Police Department has also suspended Officer Austin Hopp, who initially handcuffed Garner; two others who were on the scene, Officer Daria Jalali and Sgt. Motorcycles can be very heavy and can cause severe damage even when just tipping over while stopped. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. Schielkeis alsorepresenting Karen Garner and her family in an ongoing civil rights lawsuit against Loveland police. For Siers and his daughter, they have both lost and continue to lose sleep while not feeling safe in their home, with S.S. suffering panic attacks and insomnia the suit says. By Elise Schmelzer | PUBLISHED: March 2, 2022 at 3:24 p.m. | UPDATED: March 2, 2022 at 3:26 p.m. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. Another person, identified as K.S., was pulled over by Gates Sept. 30, 2019. 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. The next thing Talmadge recalled was being at the hospital. The complaint also includes 20 instances from other residents claiming that they were wrongfully arrested; the complaint adds the ones listed were just some of arrests made by Hill and Gates. Sychla can be seen carrying Skippy to the door before pushing him inside and eventually kicking the dog back in when it tries to come out. "Mr. Talmadge was minding his own business, and did not pose a danger to himself or others," Talmadge wrote in his complaint. That complaint, which only named Loveland and Gates as defendants, alleged three claims in connection to the arrest two years ago: unlawful arrest without probable cause, arrest without probable. Get on the ground, an officer yells, pointing a Taser at Mr. Siers and then firing it. Federal judge tosses man's excessive force lawsuit against Loveland police, Appeals court finds police baton does not fall under law against disarming officers, Federal judge considers whether wrongful arrest in Aurora rises to constitutional violation, Judge allows lawsuit to proceed against Colorado Springs officer who tased son of congressional candidate, Federal judge refuses to halt lawsuit involving Loveland officer's shooting of pet dog, Polis signs Bradfield's prescriptive authority for psychologists bill | FOCUS ON THE SPRINGS, Colorado Senate Republicans tap their inner 'Mean Girls' | CAPITOL M. He called them back, and officers came back to his home while he was outside working on his daughters bike. 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.. Don't Threaten. 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. Two officers Dunlap and Wood responded and spoke to the girl and young man, as well as other witnesses. Siers was also arrested for investigation of obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest, but the district attorneys office also dismissed those charges.
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