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

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 jail on Thursday as part of a plea agreement to minimize 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 Courtroom in early March, Hopp pleaded guilty to an assault cost that was punishable by 2 to eight years in jail. That avoided the minimal 10 to 30 or more years in jail he would have confronted with a trial and conviction.

Hopp first encountered Garner after being dispatched to a report of an attempted theft at a Loveland Walmart, in keeping with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 worth of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the objects and walked out of the shop.

Physique digicam footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked dwelling. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't 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 again and up near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. An audible pop is heard on the digital camera, something Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later launched by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility on the Loveland Police Division, where she complained a number of occasions about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to sit in a holding cell with out medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other staff have been heard on security footage acknowledging that she might have accidents.

After a quick investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Division, 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 Lawyer's Office elected to move ahead with a plea settlement in opposition to the need of the Garner family. The family felt the video within the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond an inexpensive doubt.