Monday, 25 Nov 2024

Ex-cop jailed after breaking arm of woman with dementia during aggressive arrest

This is the moment a then-police officer roughly arrested a woman with dementia, breaking her arm while putting handcuffs on her.

Former Colorado police officer, Austin Hopp, has been sentenced Thursday for five years in prison for assaulting then 73-year-old Karen Garner during an alleged shoplifting arrest in June, 2020.

Ms Garner had been suspected of taking $14 (£11) worth of goods in a supermarket without paying, she was stopped by the staff, who retrieved the items including cans of fizzy drinks and laundry detergent.

As she walked back home, she was stopped by officer Hopp.

His bodycam footage shows Hopp grabbing Ms Garner's arm and forcefully bending it backwards, dislocating her shoulder.

Ms Garner is pushed to the ground and taken to the police car.

While she is screaming in pain, telling the officers: "I'm going home. Ouch, you're hurting."

A later CCTV footage taken inside the police station shows the officers mocking Ms Garner as they re-watched the body camera video.

"I love it, I can't believe I threw a 73-year-old on the ground," Hopp can be heard boasting.

The group laugh as soon as they heard a "pop" during the moment when Ms Garner's shoulder was dislocated.

Larimer County District judge Michelle Brinegar called Hopp's action "deliberate, deceitful and calculated".

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"This is about a young officer who used his position of power and authority to show off his toughness, disregarded any sense of humanity and showed an alarming deal of criminal thinking," the judge said.

Hopp apologised at court and said: "I am truly ashamed of my actions."

He pleaded guilty to a second-degree assault charge and was sentenced to five years in jail, with three years of parole to follow.

Ms Garner's family filed a federal lawsuit, which the municipality of Loveland settled for $3 million (£2.43m).

The money will pay for the around-the-clock care Ms Garner has required after her condition worsened following her arrest.

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