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A police officer has been suspended after arresting a 73-year-old woman with dementia, pushing her to the ground and leaving her with a fractured arm, after she forgot to pay for items at Walmart.
Karen Garner was arrested by Loveland Police after Walmart employees noted that she left the store with a candy bar, a can of Pepsi and a t-shirt totaling $13.38.
Store employees had stopped her at the exit and retrieved the items after refusing to let her pay.
But as she later walked home, cops caught up with Garner, who appears visibly confused in police bodycam footage that captured the encounter.
A Colorado attorney has since filed a federal lawsuit on behalf Garner.
On Thursday the department placed arresting officer Austin Hopp on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.
Assisting officer Daria Jalali and the on-scene supervising sergeant Phil Metzler have been reassigned to administrative duties, the Loveland Police Department said.
Loveland Police Department takes very seriously the allegations concerning the arrest of resident Karen Garner, and shares with the community the concerns about video images that became public on Wednesday,' the department said in a statement.
In the footage, Officer Hopp is seen dragging Garner - who is five feet tall and weighs 80 pounds - to the ground as she screams 'I'm going home'.
Garner is subsequently seen being pushed up against the officers' police car as she continues to wail 'I'm going home!'
Attorney Sarah Schielke from the Life and Liberty Law Office submitted the suit Wednesday, alleging Garner suffered 'a fractured arm and a dislocated shoulder' due to officers' use of 'excessive force'.
In another portion of the video, a driver can be seen stopping to inquire about the arrest.
'Do you have to use that much aggression?' the passerby asks the cops.
'Get out of here! This is not your business!' Officer Hopp replies.
Garner was taken into custody where she was reportedly held for hours without medical attention, despite insisting she was in pain.
According to the lawsuit, Walmart employees asked Garner to return to the store when they saw her leave without paying and took the items back - a soda, a candy bar, a T-shirt, and wipe refills - denying her request to pay for the items.
Someone from Walmart then called police to report Garner and the direction she walking but said the store had not suffered a loss, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, claims that no one sought medical help for Garner until about six hours after she was arrested, when a deputy in the jail noticed she needed help.
The lawsuit claims the arrest violated her constitutional protections against excessive force and to have due process and also violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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