The former police officer who broke the arm of a 73-year-old woman who had dementia will spend up to five years behind bars.
Nearly two years after violently arresting a 73-year-old woman with dementia, former Colorado police officer Austin Hopp was sentenced to five years in prison on Thursday as 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.
Austin Hopp arrested Karen Garner in 2020 after she left a store without paying for about $14 worth of items in Loveland, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Denver.
Police body camera video shows that after she turned away from him, he grabbed her arm and pushed her to the ground, still holding the wildflowers she had been picking as she walked through a field.
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 camera, something Hopp acknowledged hearing in footage later released by Loveland police.
Garner was taken to a holding facility at the Loveland Police Department, where she complained multiple times about having injuries, CBS Denver reported. She was allegedly forced to sit in a holding cell without medical attention for hours, even after Hopp, Jalali and another employees were heard on security footage acknowledging that she may have injuries.
After a brief investigation, Hopp resigned from the Loveland Police Department, as did Jalali. Both were arrested and charged with crimes related to Garner’s arrest.
As first reported by CBS Denver, the Larimer County District Attorney’s Office elected to move forward with a plea agreement against the will of the Garner family. The family felt the video in the case proved Hopp was guilty on all counts beyond a reasonable doubt.
Hopp had faced up to eight years in prison but was sentenced to five years of confinement and three years of parole after release.
Watch it here: CBS Denver/Youtube
Sources: Washingtonpost, NPR, CBS Denver