Karen Garner was walking home last June from Walmart where she was accused of attempting to steal $13.88 worth of goods when she was stopped by Officer Hopp.
Two former Colorado police officers face charges after they violently arrested a 73-year-old woman with dementia last summer—and then laughed while watching gruesome body-cam footage of the incident back at the police station.
Ex-Loveland Police officer Austin Hopp, 26, has been charged with second-degree assault causing serious bodily injury, attempting to influence a public servant, and official misconduct in relation to the June 26, 2020, arrest of Karen Garner, who was tackled and handcuffed for attempting to leave a Walmart with unpaid goods.
The other cop who assisted in Garner’s arrest, 27-year-old Daria Jalali, (Hopp’s girlfriend) was charged with failure to report the use of force by a peace officer, failure to intervene, and first-degree official misconduct, according to online court records.
The arrest affidavit says that, “Karen Garner’s behavior, including her appearance, her verbal interactions and repetition of phrases, among other factors, indicated an obvious deficiency in Garner’s comprehension of her surroundings and reasonably elevated the need for Officer Hopp and Officer Jalali to engage in less aggressive and forceful methods to effectuate her arrest once it was decided an arrest would occur.”
It goes on to say “Officer Hopp’s use of force against Garner, assisted by Officer Jalali, while on and near the hood of the patrol vehicle was not only unreasonable and unnecessary, but also was the likely cause of her should and arm injury….”
Also in the affidavit, Hopp’s acknowledgement when reviewing body cam footage that he heard a pop indicated that he used excessive force and therefore committed assault. Because Jalali watched Hopp’s body cam footage at the station and did not report what she saw she is being charged with failure to report excessive force.
