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

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

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

Hopp first encountered Garner after being dispatched to a report of an attempted theft at a Loveland Walmart, according to CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 price of products from the store. When confronted by Walmart workers, she returned the objects and walked out of the store.

Physique digital camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked home. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she did not 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 back and up close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver stated. An audible pop is heard on the camera, something Hopp acknowledged listening to in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Division, the place she complained a number of occasions about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly compelled to take a seat in a holding cell without medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another employees had been heard on security footage acknowledging that she could have accidents.

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

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