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

Almost 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 part of a plea settlement to reduce 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 responsible to an assault cost that was punishable by 2 to eight years in jail. That avoided the minimal 10 to 30 or extra 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 lower than $15 worth of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the gadgets and walked out of the store.

Physique digital camera footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked house. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't adjust to a number of orders to stop. 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 again and up near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver said. An audible pop is heard on the camera, something Hopp acknowledged listening to in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility on the Loveland Police Division, where 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 employees have been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she could have accidents.

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

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Legal professional's Workplace elected to move ahead with a plea agreement in opposition to the need of the Garner family. The household felt the video within the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts past an inexpensive doubt.