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 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 in early March, Hopp pleaded guilty to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to eight years in jail. That averted the minimum 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 attempted theft at a Loveland Walmart, in line with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 worth of goods from the store. When confronted by Walmart workers, she returned the items and walked out of the store.

Body digicam footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked home. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to comply with multiple 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 mentioned. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, something Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Division, where she complained a number of instances about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly compelled to take a seat in a holding cell with out medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other workers have been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she might have injuries.

After a short investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, 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 Attorney's Office elected to move ahead with a plea agreement towards the desire of the Garner family. The family felt the video within the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond an affordable doubt.