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 lady with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in jail on Thursday as part of a plea agreement to minimize 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 in early March, Hopp pleaded responsible to an assault cost that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in jail. That prevented the minimum 10 to 30 or extra 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, according to CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 worth of goods from the shop. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the items and walked out of the shop.

Body camera footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked residence. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she didn't adjust to a number of 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 stated. An audible pop is heard on the digicam, something Hopp acknowledged listening to in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Department, the place she complained multiple occasions about having injuries, 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 another staff had been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she may have injuries.

After a short investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, 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 Lawyer's Workplace elected to move ahead with a plea agreement towards the need of the Garner family. The household felt the video within the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond an inexpensive doubt.