Ex-officer sentenced to 5 years in jail for violent arrest of 73-year-old woman

Nearly two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old girl with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in prison on Thursday as part of a plea agreement to lessen 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 guilty to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to eight years in prison. That avoided 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 keeping with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 worth of products from the store. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the items and walked out of the store.

Body camera footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked home. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't adjust to a number of 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 back and up near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. An audible pop is heard on the camera, 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, the place she complained a number of occasions about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly compelled to sit down in a holding cell without medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other workers had been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she could have accidents.

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

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