Hello Americans! What are your thoughts about the arrest of Karen Garner in Loveland Colorado in 2020?

For info, Karen Garner is a 74 year old dementia sufferer. She was 73 at the time and weighed less than 100lbs.
She was arrested for failing to pay for goods at a shop.
During the arrest, her arm was broken and a shoulder dislocated. She didn’t receive any medical attention for 6.5 hours. Whilst she was sat in a cell, the numerous officers involved were sat at the station desk watching their body cam footage, laughing about the events and describing the “pop” her arm made as it was forced out of her shoulder socket.
Following an attorney obtaining the station footage, the police chief stated that he knew nothing of the incident until the footage was aired. He also (along with numerous other senior officials) claimed this was an isolated incident, and the department is honest and hard serving.
What do you think?

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Picklebobble2 · 56-60, M

What was the end result ?

Oneofthestormboys · 100+, M

@Picklebobble2 The family attorney got hold of the station footage, and the family are suing the city, and pressing legal charges against 5 officers. When the station footage was aired, 3 officers resigned. As far as I know, charges have been made against two of the (now) ex officers, whilst the others involved have been put on desk duty.
The whole department will get extra training to recognise that someone is old, frail and possibly not 100% mentally, and therefore to not smash them into the floor, break their arm and dislocate their shoulder by forcibly wrenching their arm up their back.
The training will also involve not boasting and laughing about injuring an elderly person and denying them any medical attention for 6.5 hours.

Oneofthestormboys · 100+, M

Mediation between the legal teams has failed (i.e. the authorities have failed to pay off the family I suppose), so it’s going to court.

SW-User

@Oneofthestormboys [c=004A59]Just think about what kind of people [u]need[/u] training to convince them it's wrong to rough up an obviously frail elderly person and then mock her. 🧐

RE-training the dept. might not even work...what they really need is a change in hiring practices toward employing different types of people: those smart enough to do the job right the first time. [/c]

Oneofthestormboys · 100+, M

@SW-User Absolutely. I’ve got no training whatsoever in these things, but a basic upbringing tells me that elderly people should be treated with respect and dignity - it appears to be a standard “politically correct” statement from police forces caught red handed abusing their positions that it’s due to lack of training.
This “officer” took less than 10 seconds between approaching the lady and assaulting her. There was zero thought on his part. That’s because he’s a bloody psychopath, not because of lack of training.
The responses of his fellow officers clearly demonstrates that this behaviour was the norm in this department. They even boasted about how the injuries were inflicted.

SW-User

@Oneofthestormboys [c=004A59]I had a friend who worked for the town HS. She told me that the worst bullies in school ended up as police. I believe her. A relative of mine worked for the police and was constantly in conflict between his own beliefs and the injustices and dishonesty he saw on a daily basis.[/c]

Oneofthestormboys · 100+, M

@SW-User That doesn’t surprise me at all.
What staggers me is the inability of senior officials to actually hold up their hands and admit what everyone else already knows.
It’s patently obvious that the police mentality in the USA is unhinged. The whole world sees it too. Why they persist with this “isolated incident” stuff is utterly beyond me. If I were a taxpayer there, I’d be sickened that this is what my money is being used for.

SW-User

@Oneofthestormboys [c=004A59]As a taxpayer, I am sickened. Older people and struggling families are being run out of town because taxes to pay the salaries of these people are out of sight. But try to get anyone to vote on anything different at town meetings? Not on your life.[/c]

Oneofthestormboys · 100+, M

@SW-User Sounds a bit like how the Nazi party started. They all knew it was wrong, but went along with it (or there would have been “consequences” to all they held dear).

SW-User

@Oneofthestormboys [c=004A59]A few years ago, in a nearby town, the people voted vs. a pay raise for firefighters, because of the taxation problem. They just couldn't afford the increase.

Guess what happened next? The fire department retaliated by setting fire to people's houses.[/c]

Oneofthestormboys · 100+, M

@SW-User And this is a civilised country?

SW-User

@Oneofthestormboys[c=004A59]I don't call it civilised. I call it Hell on earth. (just don't let my family know I said that; it's God's country to them) 🤫[/c]

Oneofthestormboys · 100+, M

@SW-User Certainly doesn’t sound like the land of the free that’s for sure.
I feel genuinely sorry for you guys. I like Americans and this makes me truly sad.

SW-User

@Oneofthestormboys [c=004A59]That's another thing...land of the slave and home of the cowardly police. Actually, I do tell my family this; it makes me even more unpopular. 🤓[/c]

Oneofthestormboys · 100+, M

@SW-User Fair play to you for sticking up for what’s right.
That poor lady though. Oh my God.

SW-User

@Oneofthestormboys [c=004A59]Yes, I keep thinking it could have been my mum or one of my aunts. Alzheimer's is in the family.[/c]

bijouxbroussard · F

@SW-User [quote] Just think about what kind of people need training to convince them it's wrong to rough up an obviously frail elderly person and then mock her.[/quote]
I was thinking that very thing: who tf needs [b]training[/b] not to abuse a senior and then [b]laugh[/b] about it ? That’s someone who needs to be in prison themselves.
There’s a lot about the culture of law enforcement that needs to change—the fact that bullies seem to be over represented in that vocation, to start. 😞

Oneofthestormboys · 100+, M

Seems like it (at least from an outside perspective as I’m not American). I’ve got a few friends who are policemen, and they are trained to de-escalate, which results in far less violence and danger to themselves. They’re pretty shocked about the policing fundamentals in the states. @bijouxbroussard