Convicted ex-cop Austin Hopp applies for early release again; remains behind bars in Karen Garner assault

The family of Karen Garner tells CBS News Colorado that former Loveland Police Officer Austin Hopp has once again applied for early release into a halfway house, just one month after Weld County voted against a similar request. Hopp, a convicted felon, is now seeking release into a halfway house in the very county that prosecuted him in 2022. 

Hopp is only ten months into his five-year sentence for assaulting Karen Garner in 2020. Garner, who lives with dementia, experienced a separated shoulder, broken arm and sprained wrist while being arrested by Hopp. Hopp was caught on body camera footage and audio not only bragging about the injuries he caused to Garner, but was also seen failing to provide her medical aid for several hours as she sat in a holding cell crying in pain. 

As first reported by CBS News Colorado, Hopp first sought to be released from Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility in February. He applied to be released into a community corrections program in Weld County. Garner's family attended a board meeting. CBS News Colorado was the only television outlet brought into the closed-door meeting in which the family successfully petitioned for Hopp to remain behind bars. 

The vote was unanimous, with some of those voting said they didn't want Hopp to be a member of their greater community especially after the public trust issues he caused in a neighboring county.  

Garner's family also used his own words against him to advocate for his continued stay behind bars. They cited a letter they received from him during the trial in which he apologized and claimed he would never work in Colorado again.  

In order to be granted release from prison to a halfway home, an offender like Hopp would then have to work in the community he or she is released to.  

Garner's family was notified Monday morning that Hopp is now seeking to be housed in Larimer County and work in the county that prosecuted him. The family is in the process of preparing to argue once again that Hopp isn't fit for release.  

A time and date for the hearing in Larimer County was not set, yet, according to documentation from victim advocates obtained by CBS News Colorado.