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

Nearly 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 a part of a plea agreement 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 Courtroom in early March, Hopp pleaded guilty to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to eight years in prison. That avoided the minimal 10 to 30 or extra years in jail 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 lower than $15 value of products from the store. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the items and walked out of the shop.

Physique digital camera footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked dwelling. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to comply with multiple 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 digicam, something Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later launched by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Department, the place she complained multiple occasions about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to sit in a holding cell with out medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another workers 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 related to Garner's arrest.

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Legal professional's Workplace elected to move forward with a plea agreement towards the need of the Garner household. The household felt the video in the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts beyond a reasonable doubt.