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

Practically 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 a 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 cost that was punishable by 2 to eight years in jail. That averted the minimum 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 tried theft at a Loveland Walmart, according to CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 value of goods from the store. When confronted by Walmart workers, she returned the items and walked out of the shop.

Body digicam footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked residence. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to 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 close to 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 at the Loveland Police Department, the place she complained multiple times about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to sit down in a holding cell without medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another employees had been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she might have accidents.

After a short investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Division, 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 Attorney's Workplace elected to maneuver forward with a plea agreement against the will of the Garner family. The family felt the video within the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts beyond an inexpensive doubt.