Former DC police officer sentenced for assaults on other MPD officers, employees

WASHINGTON - A former D.C. police officer was sentenced to prison Thursday in connection with a series of assaults on other officers in the department.

According to Department of Justice officials, Robert Anderson, 55, of Hanover, Maryland, was sentenced to prison for a series of assaults on Metropolitan Police Department employees and officers where he offensively touched them and brandished a knife.

The sentence calls for Anderson to spend five months in prison followed by 18 months of probation. The judges sentence was 480 days in jail, but the sentence will be suspended on the condition that Anderson successfully completes probation.

Anderson was convicted by a jury on four charges of assault on February 1.

DC Police

Anderson, who was an MPD officer at the time of the incidents, was accused of several assaults on his coworker during January and February of 2019.

According to government evidence, the first incident happened on January 14 as Anderson was on duty with another officer at the Fifth District Police Station. Investigators say Anderson, came up beside her and beckoned to her to stand up, but when she did not, Anderson leaned down and kissed her ear and neck without consent.

Following the incident, MPD reassigned Anderson to the Fourth District Police Station, where several weeks later, a female officers reported that Anderson approached her from behind, wrapped his arms around her, touched her breast, and kissed her ear and face without consent.

The final incident happened on February 5. According to investigators, Anderson approached two female employees and began to touch them on their heads without their consent, prompting another employee to intervene. During the interaction, Anderson brandished a knife on the intervening employee.