Ex-officer sentenced to 5 years in jail 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 prison on Thursday as part of a plea settlement 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 Courtroom in early March, Hopp pleaded responsible to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in jail. That prevented the minimum 10 to 30 or more years in jail 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 lower than $15 value of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the items and walked out of the shop.

Physique camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked residence. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to adjust to multiple orders to stop. Hopp is then seen grabbing Garner by the arm and forcefully taking her to the ground, 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 close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, 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 times about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly pressured to sit in a holding cell with out medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another workers had been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she might have injuries.

After a quick investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, as did Jalali. Both had 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 move ahead with a plea agreement in opposition to the desire of the Garner family. The family felt the video within the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond a reasonable doubt.