A former Colorado police officer acknowledged Wednesday that she failed to stop another officer from shoving an elderly woman with dementia to the ground during a shoplifting arrest.
Daria Jalali, 28, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of failure to intervene and faces up to five years of probation and 60 days in jail when she is sentenced Aug. 5, The Denver Post reported. As part of a plea deal, she agreed not to seek employment as a police officer again.
Jalali and fellow Loveland police officer Austin Hopp were charged following the violent arrest of 73-year-old Karen Garner on June, 26, 2020, after she left a store without paying for about $14 worth of items.
Police body camera video shows Hopp forcing Garner to the ground, pushing her against the hood of his car and wrenching her arm backward near her head. Garner filed a federal lawsuit claiming Hopp dislocated her shoulder and fractured her arm.
The city settled the lawsuit for $3 million.
Hopp pleaded guilty in March to second-degree assault and was sentenced to five years in prison.