‘Ready for the Pop?’: Cop Who Laughed at Video of His Violent Arrest of Woman With Dementia Is Sentenced
Austin Hopp will spend just five years in prison after cutting a deal for the brutal assault that broke the wrist and popped the shoulder of 73-year-old dementia patient Karen Garner. She later received a $3 million settlement from Colorado’s Loveland Police Department over the incident.
Hopp had attempted to arrest Garner after she left a Walmart with around $15 worth of items she forgot to pay for. She willingly left the goods after being stopped by a clerk, but by then the store had already called police about the attempted shoplifting event.
Hopp and his partner, Officer Daria Jalali, then approached Garner, according to their body-cams. When she ignored them and acted confused about the shoplifting accusation—common in dementia patients—Hopp jumped her, threw her to the ground, and arrested her. Video shows she still had flowers she had picked on the street in her hand when she was cuffed.