Ex-officer sentenced to five years in prison 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 prison on Thursday as part of a plea settlement to reduce 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 docket in early March, Hopp pleaded responsible to an assault charge 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 tried theft at a Loveland Walmart, based on CBS Denver. Garner, who has dementia, allegedly tried to steal lower than $15 price of goods from the shop. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the gadgets and walked out of the store.

Physique digital camera footage from Hopp showed the officer approaching Garner as she walked residence. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she failed to comply with multiple 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 back and up near her shoulder blades, CBS Denver mentioned. An audible pop is heard on the camera, 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 a number of instances about having injuries, 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 employees have been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she may have accidents.

After a quick investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Division, as did Jalali. Each were arrested and charged with crimes related 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 in opposition to the desire of the Garner household. The family felt the video in the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond an inexpensive doubt.