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

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 jail on Thursday as part of a plea agreement 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 in early March, Hopp pleaded responsible to an assault cost that was punishable by 2 to eight years in jail. That prevented the minimum 10 to 30 or more years in prison 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, in response to CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 price of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the items and walked out of the shop.

Physique digicam 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 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 again and up near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver said. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, one thing Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later launched by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Department, where she complained multiple times about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly pressured to take a seat in a holding cell without medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other staff had been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she may have accidents.

After a quick 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 Lawyer's Workplace elected to maneuver ahead with a plea settlement in opposition to the need of the Garner family. The household felt the video within the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond a reasonable doubt.