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

Nearly two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old girl with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in prison 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 Court 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, based on CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 worth of products from the store. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the objects and walked out of the store.

Body digital camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked house. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she did not adjust to 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 again and up near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver said. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, something 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 a number of instances about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly compelled to sit down in a holding cell without medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another employees have been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she may have injuries.

After a short investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, as did Jalali. Both have been arrested and charged with crimes associated to Garner's arrest.

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Attorney's Office elected to move ahead with a plea agreement in opposition to the desire of the Garner family. The family felt the video in the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond a reasonable doubt.