LOVELAND, Colo. — The Loveland City Council voted to move forward an ordinance establishing a “Community Trust Commission“.

It comes after weeks of community outrage following the rough arrest of a 73-year-old woman with dementia.

Three police officers resigned after a video surfaced showing them ignoring Karen Garner’s calls for help after being arrested and laughing and fist bumping while watching body camera footage of her arrest during booking.

City leaders said the trust commission would be a way for the community to learn more about how the police department works, why things go wrong, and act as some sort of accountability.  

The 16-member commission would be led by citizens and would figure out how cases like Garner’s went unreported for so long, among other things.  

Tuesday night’s virtual meeting lasted for hours with public comment, each person was limited to three minutes to speak.   

“This is something that should not be drawn out – the people are demanding action for something to happen between and trust to be rebuilt. I think we should move forward on this as fast as possible,” said Sean, a resident of Loveland.   

There was also a lengthy discussion on the budget allotted for this group. 

When the city planned its 2021 budget, this group was not dolled out any funding. 

On the proposal, the group said their budget was not available, which caused some concerns. If the group does need any money, they would have to get approval from city council.  

“There’s nothing in this proposal on how the city can measure success — of this ad hoc gathering in establishing trust,” said Linda Rose. “Council should reconsider funding any projects that have no measurable outcome.”  

After public comment, the ordinance passed 5-3 and because there wasn’t a supermajority on the vote, a second reading is required and will take place on June 1. 

If passed on the next reading, they will begin the process of launching the group June 11.