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. 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. Sady Swanson covers public safety, criminal justice, Larimer County governmentand more throughout Northern Colorado. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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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. "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.". "Accordingly, Plaintiffs illegal arrest claim is barred by Heck.". I'm not talking to nobody.". Be Proactive. Longmont landscaper under scrutiny after new complaints, Carreras Tacos Bring West Coast Mexican with a Competitive Edge, Murdaughs fall from grace ends in life sentence for murder, Former clerk Tina Peters found guilty on obstruction charge, Boulder police seek person of interest in womans shooting near CU Boulder. Member subscribers also receive the weekly print edition of our award-winning newspaper, containing outstanding features and news stories, in their mailboxes every Saturday. Loveland police say they didn't know officers injured an elderly woman Sowl's arrest in September 2019 was capturedon body camera footage, released by Sowl's attorney Sarah Schielke. Get on the ground, an officer yells, pointing a Taser at Mr. Siers and then firing it. Mr. Siers said his daughter had nightmares for months. Shes a good kid.. By law, if I see an OSHA violation and fail to act,I can be held personally responsible. It is terrifying because we all have to drive, we all use the roads, and it shouldnt be that easy for an officer to destroy our lives and there needs to be consequences when they recklessly do so, she said. 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. On June 20, 2020, S.S. bicycled back to her fathers home, heartbroken over the confrontation she had with the boy hours earlier. 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.. 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.. Officers Wood and Dunlap, who had asked for backup, arrived outside Mr. Sierss home later that day and asked to speak with his daughter. 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 cause violating the Colorado constitution Article II Section 7 and malicious prosecution under the Fourth Amendment. but it can also be stressful. With her amended complaint, Schielke also uploaded an edited video of Elias arrest from 2020 as well as the full three hours of bodycam footage. They were both also making their very own wrongful DUI arrests during this time. According to the suit, the event caused emotional and physical trauma to not only Siers and S.S. but also Skippy. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. 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. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. 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. You are just minutes from Greenwood & Myers Mortuary is the first choice for many families when they are seeking funeral services in Boulder. Schielke filed a 52-page lawsuit Wednesday accusing Officer Hopp, Officer Daria Jalali, Sgt. View this page in Standard (full site) format. Colorado Supreme Court ruling makes more police internal investigations accessible. According to the complaint, the arrest destroyed her life, derailing her military career as she was not able to be deployed until her case was resolved, and devastated her marriage. Two months later, the complaint said, her blood results came back with a BAC of 0.02% and the case was dismissed. By Keith Coffman. You can be in the know right alongside Colorados political insiders. person will not be tolerated. In their motion to dismiss, the defendants submitted a police affidavit in support of Talmadge's arrest from July 6. In the suit, Schielke is asking for declaratory and injunctive relief, compensatory, punitive or exemplary damages, and attorneys fees and costs. 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. The departments statement reiterated the outside review it will undergo will includes policies and procedures, overall strategy as well as status, outcomes and claims of current and recent enforcement efforts. The lawsuit claims the dog did eventually nip at some of the officers, and that Sychla eventually picked the dog up by his leach and held him into the air by his throat while taking him to the front door of the home and putting him inside. Police are strengthening their checks of motorcycles and mopeds at the start of spring. "Force is not reasonable when a suspect is non-violent, not resisting, not fleeing, or poses no threat.". It also included that 1,352 of the drivers he pulled over 84% of his stops were let off with just a warning. And it claims that Dunlap and Wood arrested the girl without a warrant and used excessive force. 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. The guy was probably arguing unnecessarily, and probably not a liberal at all but he was right in this case. that is degrading to another person. Officers Dunlap and Wood the suit claims Dunlap was field-training Wood at the time responded to the scene where they located and interviewed Hall. LOVELAND, Colo. The City of Loveland is paying out $290,000 dollars to settle a lawsuit over the wrongful arrest of a man in September 2019, the man's attorney said. Brian Bartnes. Don't knowingly lie about anyone The city, in response, said it will conduct an independent review and maintained that it is committed to accountability. 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.. You can send your story ideas to her at sswanson@coloradoan.com or on Twitter at @sadyswan. Body camera footage then shows an officer yanking Skippys collar and pulling him off the ground as Mr. Siers yells, Dont choke my dog!, Im not choking, the officer says. Sarah Schielke of the Life and Liberty Law Office filed a lawsuit against the department and three of its officers Jeremiah Wood, Matt Sychla and Evan Dunlap for the arrest of Jon Siers and his daughter, only named as S.S. in the suit, in front of their home in Loveland in June of 2020. 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. Let there be no mistake: Loveland is not a safe place for children. This is not a bad apples event, it is the whole tree.. It's worse for POC's, but the cops are just generally out of control in a lot of places, Slogan Defund The Police is demonized by even the left but police pay out this gob smacking amounts. Colorado city to pay $3M settlement over Karen Garner arrest - USA TODAY The. I appreciate the difficult, challenging, and often dangerous roles that LPD officers undertake to keep our community safe, and I want to express my gratitude to the men and women of LPD for taking on this important work and for continuing in our larger efforts to improve community policing to best serve our community, Adams said in the release. Austin Hopp, the officer who threw Ms. Garner, pleaded guilty to assaulting her in March and was sentenced to five years in prison. As we move forward on our accountability efforts launched in 2021, best practices in law enforcement will be maintained and we are committed to accountability if those standards are not upheld.. In a news release and in discussions with the Reporter-Herald, Schielke described the arrest as senseless and needless violence. Reach him at afleskes@prairiemountainmedia.com or on Twitter @Austinfleskes07. The complaint also touches on results from the Jensen Hughes report that came out following the release of information on the 2020 arrest of Karen Garner, specifically what investigators heard in regard to the departments Data Driven Approach to Crime and Traffic Safety methods. Use the 'Report' link on ), First published on January 27, 2021 / 4:46 PM. To always use Standard format on my mobile device: Go to My Account, About | Copyright | Privacy | Terms of service | Contact. accounts, the history behind an article. Siers then can be seen complying with Sychla as he handcuffs him, but asks him to put the dogs away, stating he doesnt want the officers to shoot them. RM D5WCP3 - A police officer stops cars at a special checkpoint in Berlin, Germany, 09 April 2013. "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. Karen Garner arrest: Video shows Colorado police officers - CNN 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. He submitted to another breath test at the station on a certified Intoxilyzer machine and blew a 0.028%. 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. arrested him for refusing to answer questions as a witness about a motorcycle crash outside a Loveland bar Sept. 22,2019. 2001 - 2023 Democratic Underground, LLC. 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. Defund the police was the wrong slogan. Loveland Police Department, via The Life & Liberty Law Office. The city said Ashe violated three department policies and procedures: limits of authority and exercise discretion; search and seizure; and use of force. Ex-Loveland police officer pleads guilty to felony assault for The suit claims that once S.S. admitted to the slap, Wood, without warning, put his hands on her to begin an arrest by starting to put handcuffs on her, stating she was under arrest for assault. Federal judge tosses man's excessive force lawsuit against Loveland police 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. 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. Fort Collins man sues Loveland police officer, alleges wrongful DUI arrest The charges against them were eventually dismissed, Ms. Schielke said. According to the complaint, Emily Dutka, who had previously gone public about her arrest, was pulled over by Hill in May of 2020. No wonder why you guys get a bad rap, Siers can be heard saying when Sychla returns to him on the ground. I bet at this point Loveland wishes each of these events could involve the same officers, she said. I've never been in a situation quite like that before, Siers said. Police were . At one point in the interaction, Sowl can be heard telling Ashe, I dont know what happened. Thank you for your interest in the Loveland Police Department. January 27, 2021 / 4:46 PM Sowl said he needed shoulder replacement surgery after the incident. When they discovered that neither Siers nor his daughter were home, they left. The Moving can be an exciting experience. ( Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. Loveland Police Department officers Jeremiah Wood and Evan Dunlap arrest a 14-year-old girl in Loveland in June of 2020. Loveland Police Chief Ransom Karen Garner Settlement Update - Westword Schielke and Sowl were not able to answer any additional questions about the settlementdue to the agreement with Loveland, according to the news release. I need to put a tampon in, she yells, using an expletive. Man sues Loveland Police Department alleging excessive force City of Loveland via YouTube/ lovgov.org On September 7, the City. Skippy can be seen in the video trying to pull its way over to him. 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. Something like "Redefine the Police" might have been better. According to the suit, S.S., who was 14 years old at the time, lived with Siers at their home in Loveland. Woman with dementia sues city of Loveland, police officers - CNN The city said the findings of the latest review will be made public once it is complete. When Siers returned home from work that day, he saw several missed calls from the LPD and called them back, telling them he and his daughter were at their home; this led to the three officers named in the suit responding to the residence. The suit says the girl suffered cuts, scrapes, bruises and a concussion during the ordeal. 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. 2023 www.coloradoan.com. The accident turned out to be a man losing his balance on his motorcycle and falling over. As S.S. watched this from a few feet away, she began having a panic attack, the lawsuit states. But instead of allowing that, Officer Sychla shoved Siers, 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. The officers then approached Mr. Siers and asked him to stop resisting, according to the body camera footage. The lawsuit states that Officers Wood and Dunlap slammed her into the concrete stairway outside the home and pushed her against a brick wall. But the fact that it doesnt tells the whole story. And that starts with getting rid of every supervisor at LPD who approved of the violence in this video, she said. The girl left on her bike, at which time the officers started calling the numbers of the girl and her father, and eventually went to their house to try to find them after calling for backup officers. I was mad. 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. Eventually, Sychla deployed his Taser on Siers and continued to shock him for over five seconds, the lawsuit claims. She pretty much sticks to herself, stays at home, stays out of trouble, he said. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today. It was unclear if the officers had lawyers, and the Loveland Police Department did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment on Thursday. So, I didn't know quite how to react.. We need you. 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. Talmadge's roommate reported that Talmadge assaulted him and Talmadge resisted when officers told him he was under arrest. 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. Police video shows officers joking about violent arrest of Colorado Motorcycles can be very heavy and can cause severe damage even when just tipping over while stopped. Both the Garner and Sowl cases were brought to light through Schielke and the Life and Liberty Law Office. Two officers Dunlap and Wood responded and spoke to the girl and young man, as well as other witnesses. The case was settled for $290,000, City Attorney Moses Garcia said. The video also encourages viewers to contact the city of Loveland and let them know your thoughts on their amazing police department!, The theme across all these assaults is that this is a police department that has no concept of what community safety actually means and entails, Schielke told the Reporter-Herald. The city of Loveland and Loveland Police Department settled the lawsuit with Sowl in January for nearly $300,000. The city did not pay the demanded amount and the attorney subsequently released an edited version of the body-camera video to the public, the city said in a news release. In that video, Sychla can be heard explaining to Siers why he used force, explaining he wasnt sure what the Siers intentions were. In Ticer's presentation to the. The officers asked him to call his daughter outside, saying they just wanted to talk to her. 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. All Rights Reserved. or anything. Loveland police officer sued over alleged wrongful - denvergazette.com A Loveland police officer violated department policy when he forcefully arrested a witness of a motorcycle crash for refusing to answer questions, the city announced in a news release last week. Schielke said this incident along with others in the past show that there is a theme of issues within department leadership.