Ex-officer sentenced to five years in jail for violent arrest of 73-year-old woman

Nearly two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old woman with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in jail on Thursday as part of a plea agreement to minimize 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 Court in early March, Hopp pleaded responsible to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to eight years in jail. That prevented the minimal 10 to 30 or extra years in jail 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 accordance with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 price of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the items and walked out of the shop.

Physique digital camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked home. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to comply with multiple orders to cease. 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 said. An audible pop is heard on the camera, something Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later launched by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility on the Loveland Police Division, the place she complained multiple instances about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly pressured to take a seat in a holding cell with out medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another staff have been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she might have accidents.

After a quick investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Division, as did Jalali. Each 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 move ahead with a plea settlement in opposition to the need of the Garner family. The family felt the video within the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond an inexpensive doubt.