A former Colorado cop has been sentenced to 45 days behind bars after failing to intervene in an elderly woman's arrest.
Daria Jalali, formerly of the Loveland Police Department, did not prevent a fellow officer from violently arresting 73-year-old dementia sufferer Karen Garner.
Per Insider, Garner was taken into custody in 2020 when she left Walmart with stolen items worth $14.
Jalali and another former officer Austin Hopp apprehended the elderly lady, with Hopp grabbing her arm, pushing her to the ground, handcuffing her, and then holding her against his car.
After Garner had been handcuffed, Jalali approached and told her: "Stand up! We're not going to hold you." However, the elderly lady was unable to support herself and slumped to the ground.
The rough handling resulted in a broken arm and dislocated shoulder for Garner. Her family sued the city of Loveland and, back in September, settled for $3 million.
After Hopp was sentenced to five years in prison in May this year, Jalali has been sentenced to a much more lenient punishment. She will serve 45 days in jail and spend three years on probation.
According to a report by the Loveland Reporter-Herald, Jalali explained her actions in court, telling Judge Joshua Lehman that she thought Garner was intoxicated at the time of the arrest.
"I wanted to be a good police officer and my heart was in the right place, but I still came up short," Jalali added.
The judge reprimanded her during the sentencing, saying: "It is just tragic that this even happened and it was compounded by your continuous choices that you made throughout the two hours you were with her. You need to recognize that."
After watching bodycam footage of the arrest, Judge Lehman went on to criticize the officers' response. "She just sounds out of it and terrified to me," she said, adding: "The fact that two law enforcement officers couldn’t comprehend that is incomprehensible to me."
Meanwhile, Garner's son, John Steward, slammed the police."We all have choices to make in life, and all our choices have consequences. I ask that justice be served for my mom today."
