Ex-officer sentenced to 5 years in jail for violent arrest of 73-year-old woman

Practically two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old girl 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 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 docket in early March, Hopp pleaded guilty to an assault cost that was punishable by 2 to eight years in jail. That averted the minimal 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 tried theft at a Loveland Walmart, in accordance with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 price of products from the store. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the gadgets and walked out of the shop.

Body digicam footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked home. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she did not comply with a number of orders to cease. Hopp is then seen grabbing Garner by the arm and forcefully taking her to the bottom, 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 stated. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, one thing Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility on the Loveland Police Department, where she complained multiple times about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to take a seat 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 might have accidents.

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

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