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 woman with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to five 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 docket in early March, Hopp pleaded responsible to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in prison. That averted the minimum 10 to 30 or extra years in jail 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 response to CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 value of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the objects and walked out of the store.

Body digital camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked house. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't adjust to 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 said. An audible pop is heard on the camera, one thing 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 a number of occasions about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly compelled to take a seat in a holding cell without medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another workers were heard on safety footage acknowledging that she might have accidents.

After a quick 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 Lawyer's Office elected to move forward 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.