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

Practically two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old woman with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in jail on Thursday as part of a plea settlement to lessen 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 docket 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 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 attempted theft at a Loveland Walmart, in accordance with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 value of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the gadgets and walked out of the shop.

Physique digital camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked dwelling. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she did not adjust to a number of orders to cease. 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 close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver said. An audible pop is heard on the camera, something Hopp acknowledged listening to in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Department, where she complained multiple instances about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to sit down in a holding cell with out medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other staff had been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she could have accidents.

After a quick 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 Lawyer's Workplace elected to move forward with a plea settlement towards the need of the Garner household. The household felt the video in the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts past an inexpensive doubt.