A former Wilmington police officer was sentenced for assault, official misconduct and evidence tampering charges Friday, stemming from a violent arrest that prompted protests in 2021.
Despite prosecutors arguing his excessive force and subsequent lies in official paperwork deserved a prison sentence of six months, the presiding judge said he felt a sentence of probation would serve as justice in the case.
Samuel Waters’ defense argued that he’d already suffered consequences including the loss of his job as a police officer, as well as a pending federal lawsuit, in successfully arguing for a probationary sentence.
Last year, a jury found Waters guilty of misdemeanor assault and official misconduct for repeatedly slamming a man’s head against the wall of a Southbridge store, as well as felony evidence tampering for lying about the circumstances of his encounter with the man in his subsequent police report.
Video of the violent arrest circulated on social media in 2021, prompting demonstrations and Waters’ eventual firing from the Wilmington Police Department.