Ex-officer sentenced to 5 years in prison for violent arrest of 73-year-old girl

Nearly two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old lady with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in jail on Thursday as part of a plea agreement 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 guilty to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to eight years in jail. That prevented the minimum 10 to 30 or extra years in prison he would have confronted with a trial and conviction.

Hopp first encountered Garner after being dispatched to a report of an tried theft at a Loveland Walmart, in accordance with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 value of goods from the shop. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the gadgets and walked out of the store.

Physique camera footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked residence. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to adjust to multiple orders to cease. 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 close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. An audible pop is heard on the digital camera, one thing Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Department, where she complained a number of occasions about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly pressured to sit down in a holding cell with out medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other employees were heard on safety footage acknowledging that she may have accidents.

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

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Legal professional's Workplace elected to maneuver forward with a plea agreement against the will of the Garner family. The household felt the video in the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts past a reasonable doubt.