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Robert Anderson, 55, of Hanover, Maryland, was sentenced to five months of incarceration for a series of simple assaults that involved offensive touching and his brandishing of a knife toward a man who attempted to intervene, prosecutors say.
According to federal officials, in January 2019, a female officer working at the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) Fifth District station was approached by Anderson - who was on duty - who beckoned for her to stand up.
When she refused to comply to his order, Anderson leaned down and kissed her ear and neck without consent, prosecutors said. In response, MPD reassigned him to a different district, where he continued to cause trouble.
Weeks later, in February 2019, while working in the Fourth District, Anderson approached another female officer from behind, wrapped his arms around her, touched her breast, and kissed her ear and face without consent, officials said.
In a separate incident days later, Anderson approached two more female employees and began to touch them on their heads without their consent, and when a civilian employee intervened to stop Anderson from touching the women, the officer brandished a knife at him.
Anderson was reportedly was with the MPD for more than two decades up until his arrest, at which point he was placed on a non-contact status and had his police power restricted.
Anderson was found guilty on Wednesday, Feb. 1 by a jury of four counts of assault following a three-day trial in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. The judge sentenced him on Thursday, March 2 to 480 days in jail suspended after 150 days with the condition that he successfully complete 18 months of probation.
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