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Former Officer Andra Vance was sentenced on Wednesday to one year and one day in prison, followed by a year of supervised release for a civil rights violation that was reported in February 2018.
“This sentencing should make clear that officers who abuse their authority will be held accountable, regardless of whether their actions occur on public streets or inside public transit systems,” Assistant AG Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said on Jan. 31.
According to federal prosecutors, during Vance's trial last November, it was proven that the victim, identified only as "D.C." attempted to use an invalid Metro card to board a train at the Anacostia Metro station, setting off a series of events that landed the former officer behind bars.
When the card was confiscated by Metro Transit personnel, officials said that "D.C." got angry and complained to Vance before briefly walking away from the fare gate.
However, when he returned to the gate, Vance used his metal baton to his "D.C." in the head "without legal justification," prosecutors noted, and when "D.C." fled, Vance chased him and continued to swing the baton at his head and neck.
A second officer who witnessed the assault and helped handcuff "D.C." testified at the trial that the man was not a threat to Vance or anyone else at the Metro station at the time of the assault, which sent "D.C." to the hospital for treatment of injuries to his head.
“This violent, brutal beating of a citizen by someone cloaked in police powers deserves significant punishment and condemnation,” US Attorney Matthew Graves said.
“The vast majority of officers in the District execute their duties in an exemplary manner. Their jobs only get harder when officers like this one betray their position and damage the trust the community should have in these public servants.”
MTPD Chief Michael Anzallo echoed Graves' words, stating that his agency "strongly condemns the actions of any officer who abuses their authority in the use of excessive force.
"This case is an aberration against the good MTPD officers who keep the system safe for our customers and employees every day,” he added. “What happened is disgraceful, which is why we immediately relieved the former officer of his duties and investigated."
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