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 girl with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in prison on Thursday as part of a plea agreement 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 cost that was punishable by 2 to eight years in jail. That avoided the minimal 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 objects and walked out of the shop.

Body digicam footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked dwelling. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to adjust to a number of orders to cease. 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 stated. An audible pop is heard on the camera, one thing Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility on the Loveland Police Department, where she complained a number of instances about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly compelled to sit in a holding cell with out medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another staff had been heard on security footage acknowledging that she may have accidents.

After a quick investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Division, as did Jalali. Both have been 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 will of the Garner family. The household felt the video in the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts beyond an inexpensive doubt.