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 lady with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to five years in jail on Thursday as 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 in early March, Hopp pleaded responsible to an assault charge that was punishable by 2 to eight years in jail. That averted the minimum 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, according to CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal less than $15 value of products from the store. When confronted by Walmart staff, she returned the objects and walked out of the shop.

Physique digicam 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 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 back and up close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. 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 on the Loveland Police Division, the place she complained multiple instances about having accidents, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to take a seat in a holding cell with out medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other employees had been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she could have accidents.

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 Lawyer's Office elected to move ahead with a plea agreement against the will of the Garner household. The household felt the video within the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond an inexpensive doubt.