Ex-officer sentenced to 5 years in jail for violent arrest of 73-year-old girl

Nearly two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old girl with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to 5 years in prison on Thursday as a part of a plea settlement 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 Courtroom in early March, Hopp pleaded guilty to an assault cost that was punishable by 2 to 8 years in jail. That avoided the minimal 10 to 30 or more 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 line with CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 worth of goods from the shop. When confronted by Walmart workers, she returned the objects and walked out of the shop.

Physique digital camera footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked residence. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she did not comply with multiple orders to stop. 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 back 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 launched by Loveland police.

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

After a quick investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, as did Jalali. Each had been arrested and charged with crimes associated 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 against the desire of the Garner household. The household felt the video in the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts past an affordable doubt.