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

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 charge that was punishable by 2 to eight years in jail. That prevented the minimum 10 to 30 or more years in jail he would have faced with a trial and conviction.

Hopp first encountered Garner after being dispatched to a report of an tried theft at a Loveland Walmart, in keeping with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 value of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the items and walked out of the store.

Physique digicam footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked dwelling. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't comply with a number of 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 close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver said. An audible pop is heard on the camera, 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 a number of times about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly compelled to sit down in a holding cell without medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another staff have been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she might have injuries.

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

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