A North Side man was sentenced this morning to nearly seven years in prison for severely injuring a Pittsburgh police officer who tried to prevent him from leaving a September 2010 robbery at the Swap Meet flea market.
Aaron Farrow, 27, pleaded guilty in December to five counts each of aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person. He was sentenced today to a minimum of six years and eight months in prison and as many as 14 years.
He was also sentenced last week in U.S. District Court to 70 months for conspiracy to commit a robbery and conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
The two sentences will run concurrently.
Farrow and several other men were trying to steal from a drug operation inside the Brighton Road flea market when Officer Colleen Bristow and others went to the scene.
As she chased Farrow, he got inside a gold van on Riversea Road. Though she ordered him out of the vehicle, Farrow put it in reverse, hit the officer with the open door and dragged her several feet.
Officer Bristow suffered a skull fracture, shattered elbow, bleeding on her brain and broken bones in her face and ear.
She continued to have seizures and migraines for months afterward.
Farrow apologized to Officer Bristow this morning.
"Aaron was apologetic and contrite," said his defense attorney, Blaine Jones.
He said his client never intended to hurt the officer.
"He just made a colossal error in judgment," Mr. Jones said. "He panicked."
Other responding officers fired on Farrow's vehicle as he attempted to leave, and he crashed into a patrol car.
Police shocked him with a Taser to take him into custody.
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