Ex-officer sentenced to five years in jail for violent arrest of 73-year-old lady

Nearly two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old girl with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to five years in jail 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 docket in early March, Hopp pleaded responsible to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in jail. That averted 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 tried theft at a Loveland Walmart, in line with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 price of products from the store. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the objects and walked out of the store.

Physique camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked house. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she did not comply with 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 stated. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, one thing Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later launched by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility on the Loveland Police Department, where she complained multiple times about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly pressured to take a seat in a holding cell without medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other staff had been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she might have injuries.

After a brief investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Division, 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 Lawyer's Office elected to maneuver ahead with a plea settlement in opposition to the will of the Garner household. The family felt the video within the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts past a reasonable doubt.