Ex-officer sentenced to 5 years in prison for violent arrest of 73-year-old lady

Almost two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old girl with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in jail on Thursday as a part of a plea settlement 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 Court in early March, Hopp pleaded responsible to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to eight years in prison. That averted the minimal 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 price of products from the store. When confronted by Walmart workers, she returned the items and walked out of the shop.

Body camera footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked home. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't comply with multiple 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 near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. 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 Department, 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 consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other employees had been heard on security footage acknowledging that she may have accidents.

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

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Lawyer's Workplace elected to move forward with a plea agreement against the will of the Garner family. The family felt the video within the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts past a reasonable doubt.