Loveland releases independent report about 2020 Karen Garner arrest

Even now, nearly 2½ years after the incident, it is painful for anyone to watch. Karen Garner, 73 years old at the time, was forcibly arrested for shoplifting in June 2020.

A confidential third-party independent report about the Karen Garner arrest in June 2020 was released by the City of Loveland on Friday.

Loveland City Manager Steve Adams talked about it at a news conference.

"Egregious mistakes were made resulting in a widespread review of our policing and policies," he said.

He added the investigation could not be released until now due to legal appeals. The report was compiled more than a year ago. 

The report referenced four officers at the Loveland Police Department involved in Garner's arrest. Austin Hopp, who struggled with Garner, is serving five years in prison. Daria Jalil spent 45 days in jail.

Most of the scathing attention in the report was directed at Sergeant Phillip Metzler who has since resigned. It found "he hid a piece of potential evidence" which was body camera video of a citizen complaining about Garner's treatment. The outside investigation stated Metzler failed to report the complaint.

The report stated Metzler also signed off on an internal report without viewing the video that showed officers joking about the arrest and detailed injuries to Garner, who suffers from dementia.

Adams told reporters, "We have undertaken additional mental health and de-escalation training."

But outside the police headquarters on Friday, protestors were not impressed.

Olivia Lowe claimed, "They had that training prior to what happened to Karen Garner."

Garner's family issued a statement that they appreciated the investigation adding, "We feel that Chief Butler who signed off on the report should be fired."

Raymond Butler is the assistant chief of the Loveland Police Department.