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

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

Body digicam footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked residence. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she did not comply with a number of 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 near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver said. An audible pop is heard on the digital camera, something Hopp acknowledged listening to 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 instances 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 staff were heard on safety footage acknowledging that she might have accidents.

After a quick investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Division, as did Jalali. Each had been arrested and charged with crimes related to Garner's arrest.

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Attorney's Workplace elected to maneuver forward with a plea settlement in opposition to the need of the Garner family. The household felt the video within the case proved Hopp was responsible on all counts beyond an affordable doubt.