A Fort Collins police officer resigned during the final stages of an investigation into his conduct following an incident where he repeatedly hit a suspect with the end of his baton.
The Fort Collins Police Department had referred the case for criminal investigation following the incident in late March. The Larimer County District Attorney found no criminal wrong doing. The officer, Todd Hopkins, resigned Sept. 18 before a final hearing with the police department following an internal investigation.
The investigation found that Officer Hopkins’ actions during the incident were deemed to be “not aligned with our training and principles,” said Detective Dustin Wier with the Fort Collins Police Department.
In video footage released, Officer Hopkins can be seen repeatedly hitting the suspect while she was face down. The suspect, Natasha Patnodd, was originally detained by a Target employee while attempting to shoplift from the store. The Target employee grabbed Patnodd as she tried to flee and dragged her to the back of the store.
Hopkins, who was off-duty but in uniform, responded while driving in the area, according to a news release. Hopkins wrangled Patnodd to the ground and can be seen on the video hitting her while on top of her, both with his fist and the end of a baton.
A second officer came to the scene and between the two they shocked Patnodd with their Tasers three times. Both officers gave repeated warning to Patnodd that she would be shocked if she did not remove her arm from underneath her body.
“Please got off me and I will,” Patnodd said.
Wier would not specify any actions that Officer Hopkins took that the department found to be inappropriate, saying that the “totality of the circumstances,” were troubling.
“Just because there was no law violated doesn’t mean there was not a concern,” said Fort Collins Police Chief Jeff Swoboda in a video statement.
The Fort Collins Defense Tactics Team will be reviewing the incident for any training or policy changes, Wier said.
