Robert Anderson, a D.C. police officer, was sentenced to five months in jail for assaulting, inappropriately touching, and threatening his coworkers, the U.S. Attorney for D.C. announced on Thursday.

Anderson, a resident of Hanover, Md. was found guilty by a jury on four counts of assault on Feb. 1, following a three-day trial. A judge sentenced him to 480 days in jail Thursday, suspended after 150 days under the condition that he serves 18 months of probation. He was previously arrested on five counts of simple assault and one charge to do bodily harm, relating to incidents which occurred over a two-month span in 2019.

According to the USAO, Anderson — while on duty — approached a woman working at the Fifth District Police station in January 2019 and asked her to stand up. When she did not, he reportedly leaned down and kissed her neck without consent. In response to this behavior at the Fifth District Station, he was transferred to the Fourth District station that February. Weeks after being transferred, he approached another officer at that station, wrapped his arms around her, touched her breast and kissed her, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Also that month, he approached two women working at the station and began touching their heads. A civilian employee intervened to stop him, and Anderson pulled a knife out, per the USAO’s statement on Thursday.

At the time of his arrest in 2019, Anderson had been with the Metropolitan Police Department for nearly 30 years. After the arrest, he was placed on non-contact status (meaning he was not interacting with the public) and had his police powers revoked.

In 2021, 10 Black women filed a class action lawsuit against MPD for racial discrimination and sexual harassment, and for an alleged pattern of retaliation against officers who spoke up about mistreatment. In the 208-page suit, the women describe instances of unwanted sexual advances and a culture of  “jocular, disrespectful, hazing, bullying locker room talk” within the department.

Previously:
D.C. Police Officer Charged With Assaulting And Threatening Coworkers