The accident turned out to be a man losing his balance on his motorcycle and falling over. When they discovered that neither Siers nor his daughter were home, they left. Thank you for visiting. They were both also making their very own wrongful DUI arrests during this time. 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. racist or sexually-oriented language. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak noted that Talmadge had failed to allege which officers did what, meaning his excessive force claim was not viable under the law. Sowl said he needed shoulder replacement surgery after the incident. The city hired Jensen Hughes in 2021 to lead an independent investigation into the departments policies and procedures following the release of information about Garners arrest. Whether movers in Fort Collins are helping you Austin Fleskes joined the Reporter-Herald team in August 2020 as the newsroom's public safety reporter. Chief Ticer and Sergeant Hill did not care about these poor innocent people Gates was victimizing without consequence, the complaint said. This included slamming her body and limbs down into concrete multiples times, the lawsuit says. Time for the same rules to apply to police, https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2021/01/28/loveland-police-settle-excessive-force-lawsuit-290-k/4294396001/, This cops are always repeat offenders and they keep getting assigned to patrolling citizens, Good. It also included these male adult officers forcibly pushing her entire body against brick wall and concrete, and for officer Wood, at times pushing the front of his own body hard up against her back.. (Courtesy of the Life and Liberty Law Office) The suit adds that, per. She begged the officers to let her grab a tampon, but they told her no, causing her to flail and then collapse on the ground in tears, the lawsuit states. When Siers tries to move around Sychla in the video an action he says was to deal with the dogs Sychla can be seen pushing Siers back. "The settlement ends the continuation of lengthy and expensive litigation, and resolution is deemed to be in the best interest of all parties,"Schielke said in the release. Another person, identified as K.S., was pulled over by Gates Sept. 30, 2019. "Any complaint leveled against our personnel is taken seriously," the department said in a statement. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today. The Jensen Hughes report released earlier this year found officers were focusing more on arrest and citation numbers rather than quality policing, and that some officers needed a stronger emphasis on the sanctity of all human life when using force against people. There was a problem saving your notification. The lawsuit alleges officers injured Garner when they arrested her in June 2020 for alleged petty theft. The lawsuit alleged that Sowl declined to provide more information when asked and was injured while being detained. DENVER, Sept 8 (Reuters) - The city of Loveland, Colorado, has agreed to pay $3 million to an elderly woman with dementia who suffered a dislocated shoulder and broken arm while . Schielke said this incident along with others in the past show that there is a theme of issues within department leadership. Wood was in field training at the time, according to the lawsuit, which says that Dunlap decided to use this childs slap as a chance for Officer Wood to get more experience practicing a domestic violence arrest.. Following Schielkes early Wednesday release, the city published its own response to the event, stating that it will have Jensen Hughes conduct an independent investigation of the incident. The city of Loveland said Schielke had requested a settlement with the city more than a month ago and had given the city a four-day window to pay the settlement lest she release body camera video from the incident. He also added that Skippy had bitten one of the officers involved. The incident drew interest from nearby residents resulting in someone calling the LPD. 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. While four officers responded to the Siers home and waited 20 minutes, they were unable to come in contact with S.S. or her father. ( Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. A screen capture from body-worn camera video of Karen Garner's 2020 arrest and a portrait of Loveland Police Chief Bob Ticer. While all cases referred to each person only with initials and no full names, stories mirrored what Elias went through in early 2020. 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. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. 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. He first blew a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.000%, the complaint says, and later that night Elias was given a blood test that eventually came back negative. When the arrest begins, Siers can be seen in the video yelling at Sychla and the other officers that they cant arrest his daughter; all the while the familys two dogs can be heard barking continuously in the background. 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. And it claims that Dunlap and Wood arrested the girl without a warrant and used excessive force. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. In the suit, Schielke is asking for declaratory and injunctive relief, compensatory, punitive or exemplary damages, and attorneys fees and costs. "Accordingly, Plaintiffs illegal arrest claim is barred by Heck.". 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. At one point in the interaction, Sowl can be heard telling Ashe, "I don't know what happened. 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. Subscribe to Colorado Politics today! Longmont landscaper under scrutiny after new complaints, Carreras Tacos Bring West Coast Mexican with a Competitive Edge, Murdaughs fall from grace ends in life sentence for murder, Former clerk Tina Peters found guilty on obstruction charge, Boulder police seek person of interest in womans shooting near CU Boulder. The lawsuit, filed against officers Ashe, DeLima, Schnorr and Brian Bartnes, alleges that police violated Sowl's First and Fourth Amendment rights, and that the city of Loveland violated his. In an image taken from police body camera video, a 14-year-old girl is arrested at her home in Loveland, Colo., in 2020. The department also faced an excessive use of force suit for the 2019 arrest of Preston Sowl, which was settled by the city for $290,000. According to the Associated Press, Garcia said the settlement states the city and officers do not admit any guilt in this case. Both videos can be found on the Life and Liberty Law Office YouTube page. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. 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. Sierss daughter tried to get to her dad, but officers continued to try to put her into handcuffs. Colorado Politics is published both in print and online. According to the lawsuit, the girl had confronted an 18-year-old she had been dating in the parking lot of a Safeway over him allegedly cheating on her with another girl or woman. In a news release and in discussions with the Reporter-Herald, Schielke described the arrest as senseless and needless violence. 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. On June 20, 2020, S.S. bicycled back to her fathers home, heartbroken over the confrontation she had with the boy hours earlier. Ashe detained Sowl for not answering his questions, twisting his arm behind his back and pushing his face into the ground. They had yelled at each other, which caused someone to call the police, according to the lawsuit. The city said Ashe violated three department policies and procedures: limits of authority and exercise discretion; search and seizure; and use of force. The boy, who denied that he cheated, declined to press charges, according to body camera footage of him speaking with the officers, which was released Wednesday by the familys lawyer, Sarah Schielke. You can send your story ideas to her at sswanson@coloradoan.com or on Twitter at @sadyswan. Before coming to Loveland, he graduated from Colorado State University in May 2020 with two bachelor's degrees, one in journalism and media communications and one in history. At one point in the interaction, Sowl can be heard telling Ashe, "I don't know what happened. 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 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. 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. Without intervention, this self-serving scam will continue and the wake of innocent citizens whose lives are destroyed by it will continue to grow.. Brian Bartnes. The city did not pay the demanded amount and the attorney subsequently released an edited version of the body-camera video to the public, the city said in a news release. The suit claims that at this time Siers noticed that his dogs were trying to protect him and his daughter and wanted to safely get them inside. The Loveland Police Department officers had searched for the daughter, who is identified in the lawsuit only as S.S., after she slapped a boy in a Safeway supermarket parking lot because she believed he had been cheating on her with another girl, the lawsuit states. 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. "It is long-established that a citizen cannot be charged with obstruction (or any crime) for merely refusing to answer police questioning," Sowl's attorney Sarah Schielke said in a news release at the time the lawsuit was filed in June 2020. Watch the body camera footage here According. Police were . Following this, the suit claims that Sychla shoved Siers backward several times, with Siers eventually scrambling away into a parking space in front of the residence. or anything. Talmadge's roommate continued to remain in the home, allegedly telling Talmadge: "You will leave before I do.". S.S. can then be heard yelling that she needs to get a tampon, body camera footage shows. 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. As S.S. watched this from a few feet away, she began having a panic attack, the lawsuit states. 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. One of them, a Jack Russell terrier, started barking at the officers when they were trying to get the daughter into handcuffs. Schielke said she filed Elias original complaint quickly as to avoid the statute of limitations closing. This includes several pictures of Facebook posts showing Gates or Hill being awarded for their DUI enforcement work. The suit claims Sychla also attempted to conduct a hold maneuver to stop Siers, an attempt that was unsuccessful. Living at Kimberly Court can seem like living in the most convenient location in Boulder. Police are strengthening their checks of motorcycles and mopeds at the start of spring. Mr. Siers was later charged with resisting arrest; his daughter was charged with harassment, domestic violence, obstruction and resisting arrest. 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. The video below is police bodycam footage from the incident. The release added the findings from this review will be made public when the investigation is completed. I am a first responder. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today. The complaint also includes 20 instances from other residents claiming that they were wrongfully arrested; the complaint adds the ones listed were just some of arrests made by Hill and Gates.