Ex-officer sentenced to 5 years in prison for violent arrest of 73-year-old lady

Practically two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old girl with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in prison on Thursday as part of a plea settlement to lessen his jail time. The June 2020 arrest left Karen Garner with a damaged arm, sprained wrist and separated shoulder, CBS Denver reported.

In Larimer County Courtroom in early March, Hopp pleaded responsible to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in jail. That avoided the minimum 10 to 30 or extra years in prison he would have confronted with a trial and conviction.

Hopp first encountered Garner after being dispatched to a report of an tried theft at a Loveland Walmart, in keeping with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 value of goods from the store. When confronted by Walmart workers, she returned the objects and walked out of the store.

Physique camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked dwelling. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't comply with multiple orders to stop. Hopp is then seen grabbing Garner by the arm and forcefully taking her to the bottom, CBS Denver reported.

As fellow officer Daria Jalali responded to the scene, Hopp allegedly separated Garner's shoulder by forcing her arm behind her again and up near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver stated. An audible pop is heard on the camera, one thing Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later launched by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Department, where she complained multiple times about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly pressured to sit down in a holding cell without medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another staff were heard on safety footage acknowledging that she might have injuries.

After a short investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Division, as did Jalali. Both were arrested and charged with crimes related to Garner's arrest.

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Lawyer's Workplace elected to maneuver forward with a plea agreement towards the will of the Garner household. The household felt the video in the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts beyond an affordable doubt.