The amended complaint, which Schielke filed to the United States District Court in Denver Thursday, has the same three claims but comes with several notable additions, including naming Sgt. Loveland resident Pretson Sowl filed the lawsuit against the city of Loveland, Loveland Police Department and Loveland police officers Paul Ashe andBenjamin DeLima, Det. It was unclear if the officers had lawyers, and the Loveland Police Department did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment on Thursday. I'm not talking to nobody.". Siers then can be seen complying with Sychla as he handcuffs him, but asks him to put the dogs away, stating he doesnt want the officers to shoot them. "Indeed, the Amended Complaint lacks even a single allegation of how any specific officer touched Mr. Talmadge or engaged in force that was in excess of what was required to arrest him.". NISP opponents sue Larimer County commissioners over permit approval, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 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. The civil lawsuit alleges Loveland police officer William Gates falsely arrested Harris Elias on suspicion of DUI while driving in midtown Fort . Sady Swanson covers public safety, criminal justice, Larimer County governmentand more throughout Northern Colorado. 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. Siers was also arrested for investigation of obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest, but the district attorneys office also dismissed those charges. By: Colette Bordelon Posted at 7:17 PM, Mar 31, 2022 and last updated 6:17 PM, Mar 31, 2022 2023 www.coloradoan.com. The suit claims Sychla also attempted to conduct a hold maneuver to stop Siers, an attempt that was unsuccessful. 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. They had yelled at each other, which caused someone to call the police, according to the lawsuit. 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. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today. Colorado city to pay $3M settlement over Karen Garner arrest - USA TODAY The city of Loveland and Loveland Police Department settled the lawsuit with Sowl in January for nearly $300,000. 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. According to the report of an internal. Don't knowingly lie about anyone Subscribe to Colorado Politics today! The guy was probably arguing unnecessarily, and probably not a liberal at all but he was right in this case. COLORADO DOCUMENTARY PROJECT Speak out! 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. Sowl was cited with obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest, but the charges were later dropped. Siers had his two dogs outside on leashes at the home, according to the suit. The city, in turn, has announced it will re-hire consulting company Jensen Hughes to investigate the incident. 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The roof of a police patrol car at night, with the blue and red lights flashing. When Siers returned home from work that day, he saw several missed calls from the LPD and called them back, telling them he and his daughter were at their home; this led to the three officers named in the suit responding to the residence. 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. Member subscribers also receive the weekly print edition of our award-winning newspaper, containing outstanding features and news stories, in their mailboxes every Saturday. 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. 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. Thank you for your interest in the Loveland Police Department. At one point in the interaction, Sowl can be heard telling Ashe, "I don't know what happened. 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. Nicole Yost, a spokeswoman for the city of Loveland, said she did not know who was representing the officers. 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. 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. "Force is not reasonable when a suspect is non-violent, not resisting, not fleeing, or poses no threat.". I'm not talking to nobody.". The investigation offered a positive review on many of the departments policies and practices along with critiques on how to improve in the areas in which it was lacking. 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. Reach him at afleskes@prairiemountainmedia.com or on Twitter @Austinfleskes07. Loveland police face excessive force lawsuit for 2020 arrest of father Example video title will go here for this video. It also included that 1,352 of the drivers he pulled over 84% of his stops were let off with just a warning. Body camera footage then shows an officer yanking Skippys collar and pulling him off the ground as Mr. Siers yells, Dont choke my dog!, Im not choking, the officer says. At one point in the interaction, Sowl can be heard telling Ashe, "I don't know what happened. In a written response reflecting many points Stewart said during Mondays press conference, the department said it can not comment on specific cases and wants to be transparent and open in our work.. Schielkeis alsorepresenting Karen Garner and her family in an ongoing civil rights lawsuit against Loveland police. 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. An excessive force lawsuit filed against the Loveland Police Department has been settled for nearly $300,000. You can send your story ideas to her at sswanson@coloradoan.com or on Twitter at @sadyswan. Sowls arrest in September 2019 was capturedon body camera footage, released by Sowls attorney Sarah Schielke. They were both also making their very own wrongful DUI arrests during this time. While the original complaint totaled 15 pages, the amended complaint was filed at four times larger, coming in at 62 pages of information, allegation and claims for relief. Permalink. Don't Threaten. This included slamming her body and limbs down into concrete multiples times, the lawsuit says. arrested him for refusing to answer questions as a witness about a motorcycle crash outside a Loveland bar Sept. 22,2019. 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. S.S. can then be heard yelling that she needs to get a tampon, body camera footage shows. They treat animals like trash. It claims Sychla unreasonably and wrongfully arrested Siers and used excessive force against him and his dog, and also that Sychla committed malicious prosecution in arresting and forwarding charges against Siers to prosecutors.