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

Nearly two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old girl with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in prison on Thursday as part of a plea settlement to reduce 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 in early March, Hopp pleaded responsible to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in jail. That prevented the minimal 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 attempted theft at a Loveland Walmart, according to CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 worth of goods from the store. When confronted by Walmart workers, she returned the objects and walked out of the store.

Physique digital camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked house. 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 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 close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. 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 on the Loveland Police Department, where she complained multiple occasions about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to take a seat in a holding cell without medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another workers had been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she may have injuries.

After a brief investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, 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 Attorney's Workplace elected to move ahead with a plea settlement against the desire of the Garner household. The family felt the video in the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond an inexpensive doubt.