DC Metro Transit Police Cop Found Guilty for Beating Unarmed Man in the Head with a Metal Baton to Enforce Fare Evasion Law

From [HERE] A former D.C. Metro Transit Police officer was found guilty of a civil rights violation after a week-long jury trial at the U.S. District Court for D.C. that ended on Wednesday. The officer, Andra Vance, was found guilty of beating an unarmed resident with a metal baton in 2018.

Vance was indicted in a federal grand jury in 2019. He faced two charges: one for depriving the victim’s civil rights by striking them with a metal baton, and another for depriving their rights by choking them with the baton. The jury ultimately found Vance guilty of the striking, but found him not guilty on the choking charge. MTPD terminated him in 2019.

He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He is scheduled to be sentenced in March 2023.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for D.C., the incident started when the victim, identified in court documents as “D.C.,” tried to use an invalid Metro card at the Anacostia Station. According to prosecutors, D.C. “became angry” when Metro Transit personnel confiscated the card, and as he complained to Vance, Vance hit him in the head with a metal baton. Vance chased D.C. away from the Metro station as he fled, continuing to hit him on the head and neck, according to evidence presented by the government.

“At least one fellow officer who witnessed the assault testified that D.C. was not a threat to Vance or anyone else at the Anacostia Metro Station,” the press release said.

In a statement released Wednesday, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Matthew Graves said that the crime was a betrayal of law enforcement’s duty to uphold the law.

“When officers violate the civil rights of District citizens through unreasonable and unjustified violence, we will hold them accountable,” said Graves.

Michael Anzallo, the chief of the Metro Transit Police Department, said in a statement that the department “appreciate[s] the opportunity to hold this former officer accountable for his actions.”

The verdict comes as two other District law enforcement officers – Terence Sutton and Andrew Zabavsky, of the Metropolitan Police Department – are also on trial at the U.S. District Court for D.C. in connection with the death of 20-year-old D.C. resident Karon Hylton-Brown. Sutton faces second-degree murder charges for allegedly initiating and continuing a police chase that led to Hylton-Brown’s death. And both officers face obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges for allegedly misleading D.C. police officials about what happened and delaying investigations of the incident.

It also comes amid debates in the D.C. region about policing in the Metro system, as the transit agency announced this fall that it would ramp up ticketing for fare evasion. Proponents of increased enforcement, including Metro leadership, say making sure people pay their Metro fare is a matter of fairness and sound budgeting. But critics of ramped up enforcement argue it unfairly targets Black riders and unnecessarily increases contact between police and residents. They point out high-profile uses of force by Metro transit police, including a separate 2018 incident where a transit police officer was shown in a video pinning a woman down and exposing her breasts.