Karen Garner arrest: Who are Austin Hopp and Daria Jalali? Loveland ex-cops charged with injuring dementia patient
LOVELAND, COLORADO: Officers Austin Hopp and Daria Jalali of Loveland Police Department in Colorado who were accused of using excessive force while arresting 73-year-old Karen Garner, injuring her in the process, have been charged. The cops resigned after the woman's family sued them and the city of Loveland over the arrest. The entire incident was caught on bodycam footage.
A CCTV footage showed the cops seated at their police precinct desks while watching the bodycam footage of the incident. The two officers are seen laughing and even fist-bumping each other over the successful arrest, during which they dislocated the woman's shoulder trying to handcuff her. Garner's attorney previously released bodycam footage from her arrest on June 26, 2020, after she forgot to pay $13.38 for her Walmart purchases.
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Who are Austin Hopp and Daria Jalali?
Austin Hopp, 26, is a former first-year officer with the Loveland Police Department. Hopp has been charged with second-degree assault causing serious bodily injury, attempting to influence a public servant and official misconduct in relation to the June 26, 2020, arrest of Garner, who was tackled and handcuffed for leaving a Walmart with unpaid goods. Garner reportedly has dementia.
According to online court records obtained by Daily Beast, Daria Jalali, a 27-year-old cop who was assisted in Garner's arrest, was charged with failure to report a peace officer's use of force, failure to intervene and first-degree official misconduct. Jalali was originally reassigned, CNN reported.
The cops are LOVERS
Daily Mail revealed that Jalali and Hopp are lovers. Around the time of the arrest, Hopp and Jalali moved into Jalali's new home in Windsor, Colorado, where they lived together until the former abruptly moved out in mid-February. Several of Jalali's neighbors confirmed to the news outlet that Hopp and Jalali had been living together but were aloof and unfriendly.
"They used to park both of their police cars in the driveway of the house. I introduced myself to Austin but he wasn't that friendly," a neighbor said. "They mostly kept to themselves. The last time I saw either of them was just days before the news broke of the lawsuit they were involved in. I haven't seen either of them around since." Another neighbor said the couple were very touchy-feely in public. "They were all over each other, touching each other, laughing, kissing, and hugging right in the front yard. There are a lot of kids in this neighborhood and the amount of PDA was a little weird," they said.
Bodycam footage 'like live TV'
In the video, Hopp gives his partner Jalali a fist bump when asked how the arrest went, CNN reported. The arresting officer was placed on administrative leave. "Well, I thought it went great," Hopp said in the video, adding, "I think we crushed it." Two more officers, Tyler Blackett and Philip Metzler, were also placed on administrative leave. At the time of Garner's arrest, Metzler was Hopp and Jalali's supervising officer.
The video shows Hopp, Jalali and Blackett laughing as they begin to watch the body camera footage of Garner's arrest. Jalali, who assisted in the arrest, says body camera footage is "like live TV" later in the video. Blackett responds by saying, "the bodycam show" amid someone's giggles. "Bodycams are my favorite thing to watch. I could watch livestream bodycams all day," Jalali says.
'Hear the pop?'
However, as the three of them continue to watch, Jalali appears to be uncomfortable with the video. "Can you stop it now?" she asks. "What?" Hopp responds. According to a YouTube transcription of the video, Hopp continues: "Are you ready for the pop?" as Jalali covers her ears. "Hear the pop?" he says. "The pop" alludes to something in the video, but what it is is unclear. "I hate this," Jalali says. "This is great," Hopp responds, to which Jalali retorts sayings he hates it. "I love it," Hopp hits back.
Garner's attorney Sarah Schielke said the video was viewed and conversations about it took place while Garner was in a cell 10 feet away. According to the lawsuit, she was held in that cell for two and a half hours before being taken to the hospital. Both Jalali and Hopp resigned on April 30 amid an internal investigation, the Daily Beast reported.