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

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 a part of a plea settlement to lessen 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 guilty to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in prison. 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 less than $15 value of products from the store. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the objects and walked out of the store.

Physique camera footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked dwelling. 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 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 mentioned. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, one thing Hopp acknowledged listening to in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility on the Loveland Police Division, where she complained multiple times about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly compelled to sit in a holding cell without medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another employees were heard on security footage acknowledging that she may have injuries.

After a quick investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, as did Jalali. Both were arrested and charged with crimes related to Garner's arrest.

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Legal professional's Office elected to move ahead with a plea agreement in opposition to the need of the Garner family. The household felt the video in the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts past an inexpensive doubt.