Ex-officer sentenced to five years in prison for violent arrest of 73-year-old lady

Almost 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 part of a plea settlement 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 Court in early March, Hopp pleaded guilty to an assault cost that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in prison. That avoided the minimal 10 to 30 or extra years in prison he would have faced 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 lower than $15 worth of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart workers, she returned the objects and walked out of the shop.

Body camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked home. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't adjust to 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 listening to in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Division, the place she complained a number of times about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly compelled to sit in a holding cell with out medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other staff have been heard on security footage acknowledging that she may have injuries.

After a brief investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, as did Jalali. Each had been arrested and charged with crimes related to Garner's arrest.

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