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

Nearly two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old lady with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to five years in jail on Thursday as a part of a plea settlement 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 docket in early March, Hopp pleaded guilty to an assault cost that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in jail. That prevented the minimum 10 to 30 or more years in jail he would have confronted with a trial and conviction.

Hopp first encountered Garner after being dispatched to a report of an attempted theft at a Loveland Walmart, in response to CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 value of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the items and walked out of the shop.

Physique digital camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked dwelling. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't comply with 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 close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. 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 on the Loveland Police Division, the place she complained multiple instances about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to sit down in a holding cell without medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another employees have been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she may have accidents.

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

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Attorney's Office elected to maneuver forward with a plea agreement in opposition to the will of the Garner family. The household felt the video within the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts past an inexpensive doubt.