Ex-officer sentenced to five years in jail for violent arrest of 73-year-old lady

Practically two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old woman 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 broken 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 prison. That avoided 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 line with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 price of products from the store. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the gadgets and walked out of the store.

Physique digital camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked dwelling. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she did not adjust to a number of orders to cease. 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 close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. An audible pop is heard on the digital camera, one thing Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later launched by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility on the Loveland Police Division, the place she complained multiple times about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly pressured to sit in a holding cell with out medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another workers had been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she may have accidents.

After a short investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Division, as did Jalali. Each were 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 maneuver ahead with a plea settlement against the desire of the Garner household. The family felt the video in the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts past an affordable doubt.