A lawsuit has been filed against several U.S. police officers in the state of Colorado who were seen laughing at the footage of the arrest of a 73-year-old woman with dementia, the BBC and New York Times (NYT) reported.

Karen Garner was arrested on June 26, 2020, when she had walked out of a Walmart store in the city of Lovelace, without paying for about US$13 (S$18) worth of items.

Her lawyer added that during the arrest, the city's police officers fractured her elbow and dislocated her shoulder.

The subsequent mockery of her arrest was captured in an hour-long video that was uploaded to YouTube on April 26, by the law firm representing Garner.

Police officers heard laughing while watching footage of the arrest

The video appeared to have been taken within the police station, with a total of three officers watching the moment of Garner's arrest (which begins around the 45:50 mark) from a body camera.

At one point one of the officers can be heard saying, "Ready for the pop? Hear the pop?" in reference to Garner's shoulder.

When another officer asks, "What'd you pop?" the first officer replies, "I think it was her shoulder."

Afterwards, when a third officer says, "I hate it," the first officer replies, "This is great it. I love it."

He is then seen fist-bumping the second officer at the 51 minute mark.

Garner was handcuffed in a cell three metres away while they were laughing: Law firm

Garner's lawyers further highlighted in the video's caption that the incident had occurred on the same day of her arrest, with Garner herself handcuffed in a cell three metres away from the officers as they watched the footage.

The firm also named the officer who made the "pop" remark as the officer responsible for dislocating her shoulder.

Adding that Garner's family had hired a sound engineer to enhance the audio quality of the officers' remarks, the firm further alleged:

"The comment was made while Karen Garner, who has dementia, remained handcuffed to a bench in a cell just 10 feet (three metres) away from them, alone, confused and crying in pain. She would ultimately go over six hours without any medical attention."

Separately, Garner's family slammed the Lovelace Police for treating her "like an animal." NYT further quoted them as saying:

"They laughed and fist-bumped while they were doing it. They revelled in her pain and did nothing to address it. They relished in stripping her of all dignity."

Officers involved either placed on administrative leave or reassigned to administrative duties

On April 15, the Lovelace Police Department released a statement saying that it was aware of the lawsuit and the allegations of "excessive use of force" and "serious bodily injury".

In adding that it took the matter seriously, the department said that it had only learnt about the allegations on April 14, and that it had not received any previous complaints about Garner's arrest.

The police department added that it had since placed the arresting officer on administrative leave, pending the investigation's outcome, while a second officer and an on-scene supervisor have been reassigned to administrative duties.

Top collage left image screenshot via 9News Youtube, right image screenshot via The Life & Liberty Law Office YouTube