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 girl with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to five years in jail on Thursday as part of a plea settlement to lessen 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 Court in early March, Hopp pleaded responsible to an assault cost that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in jail. That averted the minimum 10 to 30 or more 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, based on CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 value of products from the store. When confronted by Walmart workers, she returned the objects and walked out of the shop.

Physique digital camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked dwelling. 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 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 again and up near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver stated. 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 on the Loveland Police Department, where she complained multiple times about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to sit down in a holding cell with out medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other workers have been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she may have injuries.

After a short investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Division, as did Jalali. Both have been arrested and charged with crimes associated to Garner's arrest.

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Lawyer's Workplace elected to maneuver ahead with a plea agreement against the desire of the Garner household. The household felt the video within the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts beyond a reasonable doubt.