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

Practically 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 a part of a plea agreement to minimize 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 guilty to an assault cost that was punishable by 2 to eight years in jail. That prevented the minimal 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 accordance with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 worth of goods from the shop. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the objects and walked out of the store.

Body camera footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked home. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't comply with multiple 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 near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, something Hopp acknowledged listening to in footage later launched by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Division, where she complained multiple times about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to take a seat in a holding cell with out medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other workers had been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she could have accidents.

After a short investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Division, as did Jalali. Each had been arrested and charged with crimes related to Garner's arrest.

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Legal professional's Office elected to move ahead with a plea settlement towards 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.