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 girl with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in prison on Thursday as part of a plea agreement to minimize 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 Court in early March, Hopp pleaded guilty to an assault cost that was punishable by 2 to eight years in jail. That averted the minimal 10 to 30 or more 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 line with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 worth of goods from the store. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the gadgets and walked out of the shop.

Body camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked residence. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't adjust to multiple 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 said. 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 a number of times about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to take a seat in a holding cell with out medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another workers had been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she might have accidents.

After a brief investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, as did Jalali. Each have 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 in opposition to the will of the Garner family. The household felt the video in the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts past an inexpensive doubt.