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

Nearly two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old lady with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to five years in prison on Thursday as part of a plea agreement 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 Courtroom in early March, Hopp pleaded guilty to an assault cost that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in prison. That prevented 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 tried theft at a Loveland Walmart, in response to CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 worth of goods from the store. When confronted by Walmart workers, she returned the items and walked out of the shop.

Physique digital camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked residence. 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 back and up near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. An audible pop is heard on the camera, one thing Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later launched by Loveland police.

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

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

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Lawyer's Office elected to move forward with a plea settlement against the desire of the Garner family. The household felt the video in the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts beyond an inexpensive doubt.