Former Loveland officer Daria Jalali pleads guilty in Karen Garner arrest

FILE – This undated file photo provided by Allisa Swartz, shows Karen Garner, a 73-year-old Colorado woman with dementia, whose family is suing Loveland, Colo., and three of its police officers over her arrest in June 2020. The three Colorado police officers involved in the arrest of Garner who was shown being pushed to the ground and handcuffed on body camera footage have resigned, police said Friday, April 30, 2021. (Allisa Swartz via AP, File) (Allisa Swartz via AP, File)

by: Lanie Lee Cook

Posted: Jun 22, 2022 / 04:43 PM MDT

Updated: Jun 22, 2022 / 04:43 PM MDT

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LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — A former Loveland police officer has pleaded guilty to her role in the 2020 arrest of a woman who suffers from dementia and who was hurt by police in the incident.

Booking photo of Daria Jalali. (Credit: Larimer County Sheriff’s Office)

Daria Jalali, 28, was accused of not intervening when her fellow officer arrested the woman, Karen Garner. Garner was 73 years old at the time and suffered a broken arm and other injuries during her arrest.

Jalali pleaded guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of failing to intervene as a peace officer, court records show. The district attorney dismissed her two other misdemeanor charges of failing to report a use of force and official misconduct.

Sentencing is set for Aug. 5 before Judge Joshua Lehman, according to court records.

The other former officer in the arrest, Austin Hopp, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Jalali and Hopp arrested Garner on June 26, 2020, after she was accused of stealing from Walmart. Loveland ultimately settled the woman’s lawsuit over the arrest for $3 million.

Details from the officers’ arrest affidavits indicate that police were called to Walmart because Garner had tried to take items from the store but left without them after an employee confronted her. The call did not indicate that she had been violent, according to the affidavit.