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 lessen 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 eight years in prison. That avoided the minimum 10 to 30 or more years in prison he would have confronted 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 shop. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the items and walked out of the shop.

Physique digicam footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked home. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't adjust to multiple 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 close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver said. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, something Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Department, the place she complained a number of times about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to sit down in a holding cell with out medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other staff have been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she could have accidents.

After a brief 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 Legal professional's Office elected to move forward with a plea settlement in opposition to the will of the Garner household. The household felt the video within the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond an inexpensive doubt.