Ex-officer sentenced to five 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 five years in jail on Thursday as a 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 charge that was punishable by 2 to eight years in jail. That prevented the minimum 10 to 30 or extra years in prison 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 less than $15 price of products from the store. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the gadgets and walked out of the store.

Body digicam footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked house. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to adjust to 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 again and up near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, one thing Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Division, where she complained multiple instances about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to sit down in a holding cell without medical consideration 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 Division, as did Jalali. Each have been arrested and charged with crimes associated to Garner's arrest.

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Legal professional's Workplace elected to maneuver forward with a plea agreement towards the will of the Garner family. The household felt the video in the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts past an affordable doubt.