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 lady with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to five years in prison on Thursday as part of a plea settlement to lessen 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 eight years in jail. That avoided 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 tried theft at a Loveland Walmart, in accordance with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 value of goods from the store. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the items and walked out of the store.

Physique digital camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked house. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't comply with a number of orders to cease. 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 near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver said. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, one thing Hopp acknowledged listening to in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Division, the place she complained multiple occasions about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to take a seat in a holding cell without medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other employees had been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she may have accidents.

After a short investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, 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 Lawyer's Office elected to maneuver forward with a plea agreement towards the need of the Garner household. The family felt the video in the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts past an affordable doubt.