Ex-officer sentenced to five 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 jail on Thursday as a 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 guilty to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to eight years in prison. 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 attempted theft at a Loveland Walmart, in accordance with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 value of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the gadgets and walked out of the store.

Body camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked home. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to 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 stated. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, something Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later launched by Loveland police.

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

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

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Legal professional's Office elected to move forward with a plea agreement against the will of the Garner household. The household felt the video within the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts beyond a reasonable doubt.