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

Nearly two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old woman with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in jail on Thursday as a part of a plea agreement to reduce 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 extra 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, in keeping with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 value of products from the store. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the items and walked out of the shop.

Physique camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked dwelling. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to comply with multiple 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 said. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, one thing Hopp acknowledged listening to in footage later launched by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility on the Loveland Police Division, where she complained a number of occasions about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly pressured to sit down in a holding cell without medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other staff were heard on security footage acknowledging that she could have accidents.

After a brief 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 Attorney's Office elected to move forward with a plea agreement towards the desire of the Garner family. The family felt the video in the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts beyond a reasonable doubt.