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 woman with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to five years in prison on Thursday as part of a plea agreement to reduce 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 responsible to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in jail. That prevented the minimal 10 to 30 or more 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 keeping with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 worth of products from the store. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the objects and walked out of the store.

Physique digicam footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked home. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to 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 near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver said. 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 on the Loveland Police Department, where she complained a number of instances about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly pressured to sit down in a holding cell with out medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other workers have been heard on security footage acknowledging that she may have accidents.

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

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