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

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 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 Courtroom in early March, Hopp pleaded guilty to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in jail. That avoided the minimum 10 to 30 or more years in jail he would have confronted 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 lower than $15 value of goods from the store. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the gadgets and walked out of the store.

Body digital camera footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked residence. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to comply with multiple 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 digital camera, something Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Department, the place she complained a number of occasions about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly pressured to sit down in a holding cell with out medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another employees had been heard on security footage acknowledging that she might have accidents.

After a quick investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Division, 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 maneuver forward with a plea agreement towards the need of the Garner household. The family felt the video within the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts past an affordable doubt.