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

Practically two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old woman with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to five years in prison 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 charge that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in prison. That averted 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 goods from the store. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the items and walked out of the shop.

Physique digital camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked residence. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she did not comply with multiple orders to cease. 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 digital camera, one thing 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 instances about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to sit down in a holding cell with out medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other staff were heard on security footage acknowledging that she could have accidents.

After a short investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, as did Jalali. Each were arrested and charged with crimes associated to Garner's arrest.

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Legal professional's Office elected to maneuver forward with a plea agreement against the desire of the Garner family. The family felt the video in the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts past an inexpensive doubt.