Former Loveland police officer Daria Jalali received 45 days in jail and three years of probation for failing to intervene during the violent arrest two years ago of Karen Garner, an elderly woman with dementia.

Jalali also can’t work as a law enforcement officer again in Colorado, under the state’s accountability law passed in 2020.

“Ms. Jalali was given a badge to protect and to serve, and that is not what she did,” said Garner’s daughter, Allisa Swartz, at Jalali’s sentencing Friday morning. She spoke through tears after watching footage shown in court of her mother’s arrest.

Loveland to pay $3 million to settle lawsuit from violent arrest of 73-year-old with dementia

Garner, who was 73 at the time, left a Walmart on June 26, 2020, after having forgotten to pay for less than $14 worth of items. She returned the items, and former Loveland Officer Austin Hopp confronted her as she walked home. Body camera footage showed Hopp grabbing her arm and pushing her to the ground after she turned away from him. Prosecutors previously said this all happened within 30 seconds once the encounter began.

Hopp then pushed Garner against the hood of his patrol vehicle. Garner attempted to turn around and repeatedly told officers she was trying to go home.

Garner suffered a dislocated shoulder, broken humerus and a sprained wrist during the arrest. Her family says she has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and her dementia has worsened as a result of the incident.

Former Loveland police officer sentenced to 5 years in prison for violent arrest

Hopp and Jalali were charged in May 2021 — almost a year after the incident — following the release of body camera footage of the arrest as part of a federal civil rights lawsuit. Hopp pled guilty to felony assault and is serving a five-year prison sentence. Jalali pled guilty to failing to intervene, a misdemeanor.

Former Loveland police officer sentenced to 5 years in prison for violent arrest

Jalali said in a statement to the court Friday she came into the situation believing Garner was an uncooperative arrestee and not knowing she had dementia. Jalali was focused on helping Hopp handcuff her and putting her into the patrol car, she said, and didn’t realize Garner was injured.

Jalali said she’s embarrassed in retrospect she didn’t know how to recognize symptoms of dementia.

“I wanted to be a good officer in my heart, but I came up short,” she said.

Her attorney, Anna Geigle, suggested Jalali was allowed to end up in the situation at all because of a failure of training. She said a review of Jalali’s personnel records shows the Loveland Police Department gave her passes several times when she did not meet various performance standards, including physical tests, shooting proficiency and written exams. 

“She’s still getting affirmation from her superiors that [she’s] equipped to be in situations where people’s safety and lives are at stake, when really she’s not.”

Garner’s family members and prosecutors have decried footage that shows Hopp and Jalali rewatching video and mocking the incident while Garner was in a holding cell. They dismissed Jalali’s characterization that she misjudged the situation in the moment, saying she had constant opportunities to stop Hopp’s actions, and said they believe she has not shown remorse for her role.

“This is a groupthink approach to justify violence and abandonment of duty,” prosecutor Matt Maillaro said.

Garner spent a few hours handcuffed in the holding cell before a medical professional at the Larimer County Detention Center realized she was seriously injured.

Larimer County District Court Judge Joshua Lehman said each decision Jalali made throughout the hours Garner was in custody made the situation worse. He indicated he could understand Jalali’s initial belief when she came to the scene that Hopp was struggling with a belligerent person resisting arrest. But beyond those first moments, common sense should have told Jalali that Garner was frail, confused and scared, Lehman said, dismissing the characterization that a failure of training influenced her decisions.

“This really does make your stomach clench when you watch it,” Lehman said.

Last September, Loveland agreed to pay Garner’s family $3 million in a settlement. Garner’s family indicated that they chose to settle because of Garner’s declining health.

Loveland to pay $3 million to settle lawsuit from violent arrest of 73-year-old with dementia