Ex-officer sentenced to five years in jail for violent arrest of 73-year-old lady

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 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 Courtroom in early March, Hopp pleaded guilty to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in jail. That avoided the minimal 10 to 30 or extra 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, in accordance with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 price of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the gadgets and walked out of the store.

Body camera footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked house. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to comply with multiple 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 again and up close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver stated. 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 at the Loveland Police Division, where she complained multiple occasions about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to take a seat in a holding cell with out medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other workers have 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. Both had been arrested and charged with crimes associated to Garner's arrest.

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Legal professional's Workplace elected to move ahead with a plea settlement against the need of the Garner household. The family felt the video within the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond an inexpensive doubt.