Ex-officer sentenced to five years in prison 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 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 broken 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 prison. That prevented the minimal 10 to 30 or more years in prison 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 keeping with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 worth of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the items and walked out of the shop.

Body digicam footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked dwelling. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't comply with a number of 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 stated. 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 times about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly compelled to sit in a holding cell without medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other workers have been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she may have accidents.

After a quick investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, as did Jalali. Both were arrested and charged with crimes associated 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 settlement against the desire of the Garner household. The family felt the video in the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond an inexpensive doubt.