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 a part of a plea settlement 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 responsible to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to eight years in prison. That prevented 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 less than $15 price of goods from the store. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the objects and walked out of the store.

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

Garner was taken to a holding facility on the Loveland Police Division, the place she complained a number of times about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to sit down in a holding cell without medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another employees have been heard on security footage acknowledging that she might have accidents.

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

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Legal professional's Workplace elected to move ahead with a plea agreement in opposition to the desire of the Garner family. The household felt the video in the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond an inexpensive doubt.