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

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 reduce 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 Court docket in early March, Hopp pleaded guilty to an assault cost that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in prison. That prevented the minimum 10 to 30 or extra years in jail he would have confronted with a trial and conviction.

Hopp first encountered Garner after being dispatched to a report of an tried theft at a Loveland Walmart, according to CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 worth of goods from the store. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the items and walked out of the store.

Body digital camera footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked home. 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 close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. An audible pop is heard on the digital camera, something 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 occasions about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly compelled to take a seat in a holding cell with out medical consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other staff have been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she may have injuries.

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

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