A former Washington DC Metro Transit (MTPD) officer will spend time on the other side of the prison bars for beating an unarmed rider with a metal baton during a bout of rage, federal authorities announced.
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.