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

Nearly 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 a part of a plea agreement to lessen 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 eight years in jail. That prevented the minimal 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 price of goods from the store. When confronted by Walmart employees, she returned the items and walked out of the store.

Body digicam footage from Hopp confirmed the officer approaching Garner as she walked home. Carrying a wildflower in her hand, she did not 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 again and up close to her shoulder blades, CBS Denver stated. An audible pop is heard on the camera, something Hopp acknowledged listening to in footage later released by Loveland police.

Garner was taken to a holding facility at 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 consideration for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and one other workers have been heard on safety footage acknowledging that she may have accidents.

After a quick investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, as did Jalali. Each were arrested and charged with crimes associated to Garner's arrest.

As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Attorney's Office elected to maneuver ahead with a plea agreement against the will of the Garner household. The household felt the video in the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond an affordable doubt.