A former Colorado police officer who was seen assaulting a 73-year-old woman with dementia during an arrest was sentenced to five years in prison on Thursday.
seen on widely-aired video, joking with colleagues about the arrest.
Hopp accepted a plea agreement in March that allowed him to plead guilty to an amended charge of second-degree assault, a Class 4 felony, despite strong opposition from Garner’s family. Hopp’s original two felony charges and one misdemeanor charge were dismissed as part of the agreement. The plea agreement meant Hopp’s potential maximum sentence dropped from 30 years in prison to eight.
Hopp was responding to a reported petty theft at Walmart, where staff had stopped Garner just outside the store after she tried to walk out with merchandise. Garner returned the items and was walking home when Hopp stopped her.
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“It is shocking, it is unbelievable and frankly it’s confusing because it should never have happened,” Assistant District Attorney Matt Maillaro said. “It was a needless contact, a needless use of police force.”
Garner appeared confused when Hopp approached her, as seen in Hopp’s body camera footage, and she turned to continue walking home, Maillaro said. About 25 seconds after Hopp got out of his car, he had Garner on the ground with her arm twisted behind her back while she repeated “I’m going home,” Maillaro said.
“Clearly Officer Hopp was going to take nothing but pure submission,” Maillaro said.
Hopp continued to escalate the situation, Maillaro said, and injured Garner’s arm as he pushed her against his vehicle, body camera footage shows.
In video of the booking area at the police department, Hopp was seen showing other officers his body camera footage of the arrest and asking them if they “hear the pop.” Hopp also said, “I can’t believe I threw a 73-year-old woman on the ground.” Meanwhile, Garner was in a holding cell down the hall and was not offered medical care until she was transported to the Larimer County Jail several hours later.
“We cannot allow him to get a slap on the wrist for breaking an arm,” Garner’s daughter-in-law, Shannon Steward, said in a statement to the court.
In a statement to the court, Hopp said he misjudged and misread the situation because he was distracted by his personal life “falling apart.”
“I made a terrible mistake that day, a horrible one,” Hopp said. “I didn’t do it because I was angry or to be cruel or for power or control, I really, honestly misjudged the situation. I did not understand what was happening. I responded so wrongly and so poorly.”
Judge Michelle Brinegar said Hopp responded incorrectly from the start and instead of taking a moment to reassess the situation, he continued to escalate, displaying “anger, bullying and aggressive behavior.” She also called his behavior “deliberate, deceitful and calculated.”
“This case is not about a mistake,” Brinegar said.
Hopp said he wants to accept responsibility for his actions, and he recognizes the hurt he caused Garner, his family and the community.
“I got into police work to serve and make a difference, and for several years I was proud of the officer I was,” Hopp said. “I am not proud of the officer I was that day.”
Hopp’s behavior — from the forcible arrest to laughing and bragging while watching the body camera footage — was “disgusting,” 8th Judicial District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin said. He said this sentence holds Hopp accountable for his actions and hopes it will determine others from behaving similarly in the future.
“I’m confident that this sends the message to the community that excessive use of force will not be tolerated, that treating members of our community inhumanely will not be tolerated, that lacking to get folks medical attention will not be tolerated and that celebrating such behavior will not be tolerated,” McLaughlin said.
Loveland Police Interim Chief Eric Stewart said in a written statement “this will not change the terrible treatment Ms. Garner experienced, we hope that this sentence can bring some measure of justice to her and her family.”
During Hopp’s sentencing hearing Thursday, Garner’s family spoke about how the incident worsened Garner’s dementia and has taken a stressful toll on them. Ella Garner’s family said she has since been diagnosed with PTSD and is now living in a memory care facility.
Her children said they were happy Hopp was sentenced.
Garner’s son John Steward told the judge his mother’s look of fear on her face seen in Hopp’s body camera footage after he forced her to the ground is something “I will never in my lifetime be able to erase from my memory.”
“This mother and grandmother did not deserve what happened to her that day in June 2020,” he told the judge during the hearing. “I wish more than anything that I was there to protect my mom from this man that day.”
Another officer, Daria Jalali, is charged with three misdemeanors in connection with Garner’s arrest in an ongoing case. She is next scheduled to appear in court June 22.
A federal lawsuit that Garner filed was settled for $3 million, money which her family has said will pay for the around-the-clock care she has required.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism