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

Nearly two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old lady with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in jail on Thursday as part of a plea settlement to reduce 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 cost 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 confronted with a trial and conviction.

Hopp first encountered Garner after being dispatched to a report of an attempted theft at a Loveland Walmart, based on CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 value of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart workers, she returned the objects and walked out of the shop.

Body digicam footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked residence. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she did not comply with 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 back and up near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver said. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, one thing Hopp acknowledged listening to in footage later launched by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility on the Loveland Police Department, where she complained multiple occasions about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to sit down in a holding cell without medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other workers were heard on safety footage acknowledging that she might have injuries.

After a short investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, as did Jalali. Each had been 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 forward with a plea agreement against the will of the Garner family. The family felt the video in the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond an inexpensive doubt.