Ex-officer sentenced to five years in jail 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 a part of a plea agreement to minimize 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 charge that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in prison. That prevented the minimum 10 to 30 or extra years in jail 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, based on CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 worth of goods from the store. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the items and walked out of the shop.

Physique digicam footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked residence. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she did not adjust to a number of orders to stop. Hopp is then seen grabbing Garner by the arm and forcefully taking her to the ground, 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 digicam, 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 multiple instances about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly compelled to sit down in a holding cell without medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another workers had been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she may have accidents.

After a brief investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Division, as did Jalali. Each have been arrested and charged with crimes associated to Garner's arrest.

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Lawyer's Workplace elected to move forward with a plea agreement towards the need of the Garner household. The household felt the video within the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts past an inexpensive doubt.