LOVELAND, Colo. — There are community members in Loveland calling for the police chief to step down less than a week after the family of a 73-year-old woman with dementia settled a $3 million lawsuit with the city on her violent arrest.
On Monday night at a meeting on police procedures, Karen Garner's daughter-in-law spoke in front of Chief Bob Ticer for the first time.
"To say you need to wait for investigations to complete, you need to wait for lawsuits to be completed, why don't you just get the job done?" Shannon Steward, Garner's daughter-in-law, said.
Two former officers face criminal charges in the arrest of Garner. A sergeant is on paid administrative leave during an internal affairs investigation after body camera video showed he dismissed a witness' concerns to Garner's arrest.
"We deserve better and so does my mother-in-law," Steward said.
In front of the Police Citizen Advisory Board (PCAB), some residents called for Ticer to step down. Ticer has said he has no plans to resign.
The PCAB advises the police department and city council on police-related issues such as policies and procedures. During most of the meeting, the police department shared details about its co-responder program, which began in 2016.
Two co-responders help Loveland police officers on calls related to mental health. The department believes more co-responders need to be hired. The program said they may need four more people to give police support around the clock.
"In the past 28 days, we had 186 calls for service that were mental health-related, and they were able to respond to 38 of them," Lt. Jeff Pyle said.
The goal of the program is to prevent incarceration, hospitalization and use of emergency services. Data shared at the meeting showed more than 70% of contacts were resolved on scene.
Ticer said he is talking to the city manager about additional financial support from the city to enhance the co-responder program.
"Two is not enough," Ticer said. "This is the future of law enforcement."
Earlier in September, 19-year-old Alex Domina died after he was shot by a Loveland officer during a mental health crisis. Body camera video showed Domina breaking patio furniture before he began moving towards the officer with a knife in his hand. The officer warned Dominia not to come near him, and to put the knife down, but he did not respond.
A co-responder was not working during this incident. While talking about the program during the PCAB meeting, the department said co-responders won't approach a scene until it is safe.
Before harsh comments from the public on the Garner case, council member Don Overcash shared a message with a different tone. He told members of the board that a majority of council members have remained silent about the Garner case because they are waiting for investigations to conclude.
"I think we need to exercise caution and put things into perspective," he said. "I don't think anyone here would want their son or daughter mistreated in a job situation without full information being reviewed."
A report on the independent investigation by a consulting firm into Garner's arrest will be released to the public within the next several months, according to the city.
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