Ex-officer sentenced to 5 years in prison 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 five years in prison on Thursday as a part of a plea agreement to lessen 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 guilty to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to eight years in prison. That averted the minimal 10 to 30 or extra years in prison he would have confronted with a trial and conviction.

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

Body camera footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked house. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she did not 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 said. An audible pop is heard on the digital camera, something Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later launched by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility on the Loveland Police Department, the place she complained multiple times about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly pressured to take a seat in a holding cell without medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other staff had been heard on security footage acknowledging that she could have accidents.

After a quick 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 Lawyer's Workplace elected to move forward with a plea settlement against the desire of the Garner family. The household felt the video within the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts past an affordable doubt.