Ex-officer sentenced to five years in jail for violent arrest of 73-year-old lady

Almost two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old woman with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in prison on Thursday as part of a plea settlement 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 docket in early March, Hopp pleaded guilty to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to eight years in prison. That prevented the minimum 10 to 30 or more years in prison 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 lower than $15 price of products from the shop. When confronted by Walmart workers, she returned the items and walked out of the shop.

Physique camera footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked dwelling. 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 back and up near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver stated. An audible pop is heard on the digital camera, something Hopp acknowledged listening to in footage later launched by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility on the Loveland Police Department, the place she complained a number of times about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly compelled to sit in a holding cell without medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other staff were heard on security footage acknowledging that she might have accidents.

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

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Attorney's Workplace elected to move forward with a plea agreement against the will of the Garner family. The household felt the video in the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond an affordable doubt.