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. 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. 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. Ashe twisted Sowls arm behind his back and pushed his face into the ground, according to a civil rights lawsuit. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. After S.S. came out and began talking with the officers, she eventually admitted to slapping Hall earlier that day the video accompanying the suit claims their body-worn cameras were muted for much of this discussion. 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. View this page in Standard (full site) format. They were both also making their very own wrongful DUI arrests during this time. 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.. He also added that Skippy had bitten one of the officers involved. Chief Ticer and Sergeant Hill did not care about these poor innocent people Gates was victimizing without consequence, the complaint said. The suit adds that, per LPD policy on handcuffing, people 14 or younger should not be restrained unless they are suspected of a dangerous felony.. The suit claims Sychla also attempted to conduct a hold maneuver to stop Siers, an attempt that was unsuccessful. Photo: Paul Zinken. The suit adds that the slap did not cause Hall injury or even leave a mark, with video showing him telling officers that it only stung. The dog was later taken to live with a family out of state because he became extremely aggressive with every stranger after the police encounter, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit claims that a man and his 14-year-old daughter were arrested by officers who used excessive force during the encounter in 2020. 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. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, The city said the findings of the latest review will be made public once it is complete. accounts, the history behind an article. (Courtesy of the Life and Liberty Law Office) The suit adds that, per. Ashe twisted Sowls arm behind his back and pushed his face into the ground, according to a civil rights lawsuit. Thank you for your interest in the Loveland Police Department. Mr. Siers was later charged with resisting arrest; his daughter was charged with harassment, domestic violence, obstruction and resisting arrest. She was on her period that day and felt scared by the thought of bleeding all over a police car or jail cell, the lawsuit states. I feel that there needs to be a change in law enforcement, Mr. Siers said. Subscribe to Colorado Politics today! Im not talking to nobody.. 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. 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. led to a $3 million settlement last year. Following multiple pleas from Siers to put the dogs inside, Sychla can be seen approaching Skippy and picking him up by the leash and carrying him toward the door, dangling several feet above the ground by his neck. The state's second-highest court on Thursday overturned a man's conviction for disarming a police officer, determining that Colorado law does . The officers then approached Mr. Siers and asked him to stop resisting, according to the body camera footage. The first third of the complaint retells Elias story with much of the restgoing into more detail on what the complaint describes as Chief Bob Ticer and the LPDs obsession with DUI arrests.. 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 . $300K seems really low given the cost of the medical treatment and pain and suffereing. The Loveland Reporter-Herald reports Preston Sowl claimed the officers violated his constitutional rights by detaining and injuring him after he declined to talk to them while at the scene of an accident in September 2019. Mr. Siers and his lawyer said they would not accept a settlement and expected to take the case to a jury. The case was settled for $290,000, City Attorney Moses Garcia said. As S.S. watched this from a few feet away, she began having a panic attack, the lawsuit states. Dutka, an active duty military member, was driving a rental car and did not realize a headlight was out. The city said Ashe violated three department policies and procedures: limits of authority and exercise discretion; search and seizure; and use of force. 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. NISP opponents sue Larimer County commissioners over permit approval, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. According to the suit, the event caused emotional and physical trauma to not only Siers and S.S. but also Skippy. 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. According to the complaint, Emily Dutka, who had previously gone public about her arrest, was pulled over by Hill in May of 2020. Motorcycles can be very heavy and can cause severe damage even when just tipping over while stopped. Reach him at afleskes@prairiemountainmedia.com or on Twitter @Austinfleskes07. Best practices in law enforcement will be maintained and we are committed to accountability if those standards are not upheld, he said. After grabbing witness statements from people in the area, including a statement from Hall where he said the incident did not cause him physical pain, the officers attempted to call S.S. and Siers to no success. The lawsuit alleged officers violated Sowl's constitutional rights when they arrested him for refusing to answer questions as a witness about a motorcycle crash outside a Loveland bar Sept. 22,2019. S.S. can be heard crying and yelling in the background. Local attorney Sarah Schielke has filed an amended lawsuit against members of the Loveland Police Department and the city of Loveland regarding an alleged wrongful DUI arrest in early 2020. Its uncommon for the city to share information about internal investigations publicly, city manager Steve Adams said in the news release, but the city chose to in this instance to increase transparency. The complaint later stated that, in 2019, Gates initiated 1,622 traffic stops while the average total number of stops from other LPD patrol officers working similar shifts in 2019 was 200 to 400 a year. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. 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. Loveland to pay $3 million to settle lawsuit from violent arrest of 73-year-old with dementia Julia Cardi julia.cardi@gazette.com On Wednesday evening, the Lakewood Police Department said it was aware of the lawsuit. The defendants asked Varholak to dismiss the lawsuit because of Talmadge's successful criminal prosecution and because he neglected to describe the actions each officer took to allegedly harm him. The city said Ashe violated three department policies and procedures: limits of authority and exercise discretion; search and seizure; and use of force. Mr. Siers said his daughter had nightmares for months. Two officers Dunlap and Wood responded and spoke to the girl and young man, as well as other witnesses. This included slamming her body and limbs down into concrete multiples times, the lawsuit 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. We provide you with the latest news and videos straight from the Mile High City! It also included information on timed DUI arrest competitions put on by MADD that LPD is a part of. The lawsuit alleged officers violated Sowl's constitutional rights when they arrested him for refusing to answer questions as a witness about a motorcycle crash outside a Loveland bar Sept. 22, 2019. Karen Garner suffered a dislocated shoulder, fractured arm and sprained wrist after she was slammed to the ground and hogtied during a June 26 arrest, according to a federal lawsuit. Siers had his two dogs outside on leashes at the home, according to the suit. On a form that asked the boy if the actions of S.S. caused him pain, he marked, No., It was the middle of the day and there was little else to do, the lawsuit states, adding that the officers were bored.. According to the suit, S.S., who was 14 years old at the time, lived with Siers at their home in Loveland. Schielke said the names used in the suit were gained from a records request made to the LPD and, out of respect for each persons privacy, she did not include their full names with the exception of one person. 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. Defund the police was the wrong slogan. Steve Adams, the city manager in Loveland, said in a statement that while the incidents were initially reviewed and deemed appropriate at the time of the event, he would open a second review of the arrest by an independent law enforcement and public safety consulting firm. racist or sexually-oriented language. The charges were dismissed by the Larimer County District Attorneys Office. Loveland City Manager Steve Adams said the city was also releasing its own video from the ordeal and that while the city initially reviewed and deemed appropriate at the time the actions of the officers, but was now taking a second outside look at the incident in our efforts to ensure we are policing in a respectful and proper manner., 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.. Loveland Police Department officers Jeremiah Wood and Evan Dunlap arrest a 14-year-old girl in Loveland in June of 2020. The guy was probably arguing unnecessarily, and probably not a liberal at all but he was right in this case. Shes a good kid.. 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. COLORADO DOCUMENTARY PROJECT Speak out! Share with Us. Schielkeis alsorepresenting Karen Garner and her family in an ongoing civil rights lawsuit against Loveland police. Schielke said she filed Elias original complaint quickly as to avoid the statute of limitations closing. 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. Officer Paul Ashe detained Preston Sowl after Sowl refused to answer his questions about a motorcycle crash Sowl witnessed outside a Loveland bar Sept. 22, 2019. Sierss daughter tried to get to her dad, but officers continued to try to put her into handcuffs. An internal review determined the officer was not justified in arresting a witness who refused to answer his questions. The Moving can be an exciting experience. 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. He also claimed the encounter demonstrated a "serious training issue" with the Loveland Police Department. That leads to this result, this absurd result, where the officers prioritize numbers over the constitutional rights of the citizens they are supposed to be protecting, she said. I am a first responder. The 18-year-old man declined twice to press charges against the girl and said the slap caused him no pain, according to the lawsuit. They hurt families and destroy lives, Schielke said in a statement. 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. The citys statement that it was hiring the consulting firm came after attorney Sarah Schielke filed a lawsuit against the city over the ordeal involving the girl, her father and their dog. She had been dating 18-year-old Elijah Hall and, around lunchtime on June 20, 2020, she rode her bike to the nearby Safeway where she found Hall with another woman. The. The biggest threat to the safety of the Loveland community is - and continues to be - the Loveland Police Department itself. 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. Skippy can be seen in the video trying to pull its way over to him. 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. The Loveland City Attorney's Office did not respond to a request for comment as of Thursday afternoon. The incidents were initially reviewed and deemed appropriate at the time of the event, but the city is taking a second outside look at the incident in our efforts to ensure we are policing in a respectful and proper manner, City Manager Steve Adams said in the release. They had yelled at each other, which caused someone to call the police, according to the lawsuit. 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 claims Gates said he could smell alcohol coming from the vehicle and that K.S. No wonder why you guys get a bad rap, Siers can be heard saying when Sychla returns to him on the ground. According to a release from the city, Ashe violated three LPD policies and procedures: Tice recommended a written warning and more training for the officer, according to the memo. The lawsuit alleges Metzler intimidated and bullied the witness and deactivated his body-worn camera during the interaction to cover up the use of excessive force. Sychla handcuffed Siers, who was still pleading to have officers let him take his dog inside. Sowl said he needed shoulder replacement surgery after the incident. This is not a bad apples event, it is the whole tree.. "Accordingly, Plaintiffs illegal arrest claim is barred by Heck.". The complaint goes on to say that Ticer and the LPD had a history of giving awards and recognition for high DUI arrests, including reporting the arrest numbers to agencies like Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The charges against them were eventually dismissed, Ms. Schielke said. 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. 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. A blood test also later showed no impairing substances and the District Attorneys office dismissed the DUI charges, the complaint claims. "Force is not reasonable when a suspect is non-violent, not resisting, not fleeing, or poses no threat.". The lawsuit alleges officers injured Garner when they arrested her in June 2020 for alleged petty theft. The city of Loveland and Loveland Police Department settled the lawsuit with Sowl in January for nearly $300,000. Another officer, according to Talmadge, slammed him to the ground where his "head bounced off the concrete." There was a problem saving your notification. The official filing of the amended complaint comes quickly after the LPD announced that it would be launching an outside, professional review of its DUI enforcement program; Schielke said she had informed the department of the amended complaint two weeks ago. A screen capture from body-worn camera video of Karen Garner's 2020 arrest and a portrait of Loveland Police Chief Bob Ticer. 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. Our website features subscriber-only news stories daily, designed for public policy arena professionals. Talmadge's roommate reported that Talmadge assaulted him and Talmadge resisted when officers told him he was under arrest. One of them, a Jack Russell terrier, started barking at the officers when they were trying to get the daughter into handcuffs. arrested him for refusing to answer questions as a witness about a motorcycle crash outside a Loveland bar Sept. 22,2019. Secure your subscription to Colorados premier political news journal, in continuous publication since 1898. Sowl said he needed shoulder replacement surgery after the incident. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. 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 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. Anyone can read what you share. 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. 2023 www.coloradoan.com. The lawsuit alleged officers violated Sowl's constitutional rights when they arrested him for refusing to answer questions as a witness about a motorcycle crash outside a Loveland bar Sept. 22, 2019. I was scared. Schielke also said she wanted to ensure the officers who were involved were held accountable and forced to change.. Watch the body camera footage here According. RELATED: City of Loveland chooses firm to conduct independent review after arrest of Karen Garner, RELATED: Former Loveland officer faces assault charge, accused of writing inaccurate reports related to Karen Garner's arrest, RELATED: Karen Garner's family feels more 'concern than relief' after charges announced against officers. She said, at the time, her records requests were not being fulfilled quickly enough to file before time ran out. 9NEWS is not naming the witness because he is not being accused of a crime. Get on the ground, an officer yells, pointing a Taser at Mr. Siers and then firing it. The three officers named in the lawsuit Matt Sychla, Jeremiah Wood and Evan Dunlap still arrested S.S. outside her home that day. 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 ordeal was enough for someone to call Loveland police to the scene, according to the lawsuit. 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. 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. Sowl's arrest was captured on body camera footage. 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. Sady Swanson covers public safety, K-12 education and more throughout Northern Colorado. At one point in the interaction, Sowl can be heard telling Ashe, "I don't know what happened. He submitted to another breath test at the station on a certified Intoxilyzer machine and blew a 0.028%. 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. Sowl's arrest in September 2019 was capturedon body camera footage, released by Sowl's attorney Sarah Schielke. https://www.reporterherald.com/2020/06/22/man-sues-loveland-police-department-alleging-excessive-force/?fbclid=IwAR1nA4PCQglIk6_WZnOrE2Hy6S3zGZ5L5-sxQFW2_D4aHA1QedY48JlaYu0, https://pmatep5f7b.execute-api.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/ProdStage. DENVER 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. 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. Last year, the city of Loveland paid a $3 million settlement to the woman, Karen Garner. 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. 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. Colorado Supreme Court ruling makes more police internal investigations accessible. The suit also claims Sychla falsified and exaggerated facts in the police report involving Siers. He called them back, and officers came back to his home while he was outside working on his daughters bike. 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. 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. The accident turned out to be a man losing his balance on his motorcycle and falling over. 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. Lawsuit alleges Loveland Police Department has pattern of wrongful DUI arrests Blood test shows man arrested in 2020 had no alcohol in system A new lawsuit targets the Loveland Police Department's DUI enforcement. 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. Loveland is not a safe place for grandparents. The roof of a police patrol car at night, with the blue and red lights flashing. So, I didn't know quite how to react.. 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. The city, in response, said it will conduct an independent review and maintained that it is committed to accountability. The Loveland Police Department is facing another excessive use of force lawsuit after the release of information and footage of a 2020 arrest of a man and his then-14-year-old daughter as well as the treatment of one of their family dogs. 2023 www.coloradoan.com. 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. 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.. 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. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Watching my daughter go through this, I mean, I was terrified, Mr. Siers said by phone on Thursday. 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. 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. S.S. can then be heard yelling that she needs to get a tampon, body camera footage shows. Even Chief Ticer himself assisted Hill with arresting and charging an innocent person with DUI, by providing a (Drug Recognition Expert) evaluation of the individual and declaring in his (Ticers) expert DRE opinion that the person was under the influence of cannabis.. Police. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month.