Ex-officer sentenced to five years in jail for violent arrest of 73-year-old girl

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 damaged 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 avoided the minimal 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, according to CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 price of products from the shop. 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 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 back and up close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver stated. An audible pop is heard on the camera, something Hopp acknowledged listening to in footage later released by Loveland police.

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

After a quick investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, 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 Attorney's Office elected to move forward with a plea settlement against the desire of the Garner household. The household felt the video in the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts past an affordable doubt.