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 girl with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in prison 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 charge that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in jail. That prevented the minimum 10 to 30 or extra 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, according to CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 worth of goods from the shop. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the items and walked out of the shop.

Physique digicam footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked house. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to comply with a number of orders to cease. 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 close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. An audible pop is heard on the camera, something Hopp acknowledged listening to in footage later launched by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Department, the place she complained multiple occasions about having accidents, 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 one other employees have been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she may have injuries.

After a quick investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Division, as did Jalali. Each had been 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 forward with a plea settlement in opposition to the need of the Garner household. The family felt the video within the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts past an inexpensive doubt.