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

Practically 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 a part of a plea settlement to lessen 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 responsible to an assault cost that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in jail. That avoided 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 attempted theft at a Loveland Walmart, according to CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 value of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the objects and walked out of the shop.

Physique camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked residence. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to 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 stated. An audible pop is heard on the digital camera, something Hopp acknowledged listening to in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Division, where she complained a number of times 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 had been heard on security footage acknowledging that she might have injuries.

After a short 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 Legal professional's Workplace elected to move forward with a plea settlement against the need of the Garner household. The household felt the video within the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts beyond an affordable doubt.