Jamiesfeast – According to federal officials, a former Metro Transit Police Officer in Washington, DC, will spend time in jail for hitting an unarmed rider with a metal baton out of anger.
Andra Vance, a former police officer, was given a one-year and one-day prison term on Wednesday. She will then be released after one year of being closely watched for violating civil rights, in February 2018.
Federal prosecutors said that during Vance’s trial last November, it was proven that the victim, who was only identified as “D.C.,” tried to use a fake Metro card to get on a train at the Anacostia Metro stop. This started a chain of events that put the former officer in jail.
According to witnesses, “D.C.” complained to Vance after Metro Transit employees took his card and walked away from the pay gate in a furious manner.
When Vance got back to the gate, he hit “D.C.” in the head with his metal baton “without legal justification,” according to the prosecutors. When “D.C.” ran away, Vance chased him and kept swinging the baton at his head and neck.
At the trial, a second officer who saw the attack and helped handcuff “D.C.” said that the man wasn’t a threat to Vance or anyone else at the Metro stop at the time of the attack. The attack hurt “D.C.”‘s head, so he was taken to the hospital for treatment.
“This violent and brutal beating of a citizen by someone pretending to be a police officer should be severely punished and condemned,” US Attorney Matthew Graves said.
“Most of the officers in the district do their jobs in a very professional way.” When police officers like this betray their duty and hurt the public’s trust in these public workers, their jobs get harder.
In response to Graves’s comments, MTPD Chief Michael Anzallo said that his department “strongly condemns the actions of any officer who abuses their authority by using excessive force.”
“This case is a mistake against the good MTPD officers who every day keep the system safe for our employees and customers,” he said. “What happened was shameful, so we fired the former officer right away and started an investigation.