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

Practically two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old lady with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 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 damaged arm, sprained wrist and separated shoulder, CBS Denver reported.

In Larimer County Courtroom in early March, Hopp pleaded guilty to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in jail. That avoided the minimum 10 to 30 or more years in jail 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 shop. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the objects and walked out of the shop.

Physique digicam footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked residence. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't comply with 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 back and up near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver stated. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, one thing Hopp acknowledged listening to in footage later launched by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility on the Loveland Police Department, where she complained multiple instances about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly compelled to take a seat in a holding cell with out medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another workers have been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she could have accidents.

After a short investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Division, 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 Attorney's Workplace elected to move ahead with a plea settlement towards the need of the Garner household. The family felt the video in the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond an inexpensive doubt.