A Loveland police officer was terminated after he hit a woman in the face while she was being evaluated at the hospital, the Loveland Police Department announced in a Wednesday morning news release.
The incident, which is being investigated by the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, happened Saturday evening. The officer has not been identified.
Please see the following News Release reference a Use of Force Investigation: https://t.co/4tsUR4Rar9
— Loveland Police Department (@Loveland_police) May 24, 2023
Officers had initially responded to a report of a woman walking in and out of traffic and speaking incoherently near North Garfield Avenue and East 29th Street. The officers put her in custody and took her to the Medical Center of the Rockies for evaluation.
The woman was “verbally abusive toward healthcare professionals and spat at a nurse and on one of the officers,” the news release states. “The officer responded with an inappropriate use of force by striking the female in the face causing minor injuries to her face. The offending officer’s partner immediately intervened, removed him from the room and radioed for a supervisor to respond to the scene.”
The woman was later medically cleared and transported to the Larimer County Jail.
The Police Department put the officer on administrative leave that evening, and Loveland Police Chief Tim Doran asked the Larimer County District Attorney’s Office the next day for a criminal investigation into what happened.
The officer was terminated Tuesday.
Doran said in a video posted from the city of Loveland’s YouTube account that the officer was still in his first-year probationary period standard for all new officers.
The Sheriff’s Office investigation is still active, and the District Attorney’s Office will determine any charges.
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