Often that routine meant walking to Walmart, only about a mile away from her apartment. Steward said a family doctor told them the dementia was mild enough that they should not disrupt Garner’s routine. Jessa Swartz wipes away tears as she, her aunt and her mother talk Monday about their mother and grandmother, Karen Garner. Her driver’s license wasn’t renewed, though Garner disagreed with that, and while family members floated the idea of having her move into a memory care facility, she absolutely did not want it. Steward said that in the six months before the arrest, the family had many conversations about Garner’s dementia as it came on slowly. ![]() “That was Karen, those first eight seconds,” she said. Steward, who lives in Littleton, said the seconds depicted on Officer Austin Hopp’s body camera footage before Hopp arrested Garner are a great representation of who she was: happy, carefree and enjoying picking flowers in the outdoors, smiling as Hopp approached. She said her mother would often walk across the grassy field, up a small hill and in through the back door to have lunch or dinner with her family. The apartment where Garner used to live can be seen from Swartz’s backyard. “She always saw that life was happy,” Swartz said. Allisa Swartz said she would make cakes for family birthdays or celebrations and sold cakes to others for their special celebrations. Garner’s family described her as a happy, carefree woman who loved crafting and taking care of her family. The family is suing the Loveland Police Department. Jessa Swartz, left, hugs her mom, Allisa Swartz, as the two walk down the street Monday toward the area where their grandmother and mother, Karen Garner, suffered injuries when she was arrested by Loveland police in June 2020. With tears in their eyes, they said what happened to her changed who she was and that she hasn’t come back. On Monday, Allisa Swartz, Garner’s daughter Shannon Steward, Garner’s daughter-in-law and Jessa Swartz, Garner’s granddaughter retold the story of the aftermath of Garner’s arrest. Her treatment at the hands of the police prompted a lawsuit April 14 accusing officers of using excessive force. Garner reportedly suffered a dislocated shoulder and fractured arm during the arrest.Īttorney Sarah Schielke of the Life and Liberty Law Office has since released more information and video footage surrounding Garner’s arrest and her detention at the police station, causing the original complaint to be amended to add more defendants. ![]() Loveland police arrested Garner on June 26, 2020, as she walked home from the east Walmart. She was scared, and she was confused, but above all she was different, her family says. She kept telling her family that she was just going home, that she had tried to pay, that they wouldn’t take her money. She was nervous, wringing her hands and constantly anxious. When Karen Garner came home after being arrested in 2020, her family says she was different. Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a response from Walmart about the store’s contact with Karen Garner.
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