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

Almost 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 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 guilty to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to eight years in prison. That prevented the minimal 10 to 30 or extra years in jail 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 keeping with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 price of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the gadgets and walked out of the shop.

Physique digital camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked residence. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she did not adjust to multiple orders to cease. Hopp is then seen grabbing Garner by the arm and forcefully taking her to the bottom, CBS Denver reported.

As fellow officer Daria Jalali responded to the scene, Hopp allegedly separated Garner's shoulder by forcing her arm behind her back and up close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, one thing Hopp acknowledged listening to 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 occasions about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly pressured to sit in a holding cell with out medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other staff had been heard on security footage acknowledging that she may have injuries.

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