Ex-officer sentenced to 5 years in prison for violent arrest of 73-year-old woman

Practically two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old lady with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in prison on Thursday as a 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 Courtroom in early March, Hopp pleaded responsible to an assault cost that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in prison. That averted the minimum 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 tried theft at a Loveland Walmart, in line with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 price of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the objects and walked out of the store.

Body camera footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked dwelling. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to adjust to multiple 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 camera, something Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Department, where she complained multiple times about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly compelled to take a seat in a holding cell without medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another workers were heard on safety footage acknowledging that she may have injuries.

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

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Lawyer's Office elected to move forward with a plea settlement towards the will of the Garner family. The household felt the video in the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts beyond a reasonable doubt.