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

Almost two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old lady 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 charge that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in jail. That avoided 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 worth of goods from the store. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the gadgets and walked out of the shop.

Body camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked home. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't adjust to 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 again and up close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. An audible pop is heard on the camera, something Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility on the Loveland Police Division, 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 attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another staff were heard on security footage acknowledging that she might have accidents.

After a brief investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, as did Jalali. Both 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 settlement in opposition to the need of the Garner household. The household felt the video in the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts past an affordable doubt.