Ex-officer sentenced to 5 years in prison 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 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 Court docket in early March, Hopp pleaded responsible to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in prison. That avoided the minimum 10 to 30 or more years in prison he would have faced with a trial and conviction.

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

Body digicam footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked house. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she did not comply with 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 near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver said. An audible pop is heard on the digital camera, one thing Hopp acknowledged listening to in footage later launched by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility on the Loveland Police Department, the place she complained a number of times about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly compelled to take a seat in a holding cell with out medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other staff were heard on safety footage acknowledging that she might have accidents.

After a short investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Division, 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 Workplace elected to move ahead with a plea settlement against the desire of the Garner household. The family felt the video within the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts beyond an affordable doubt.