Cop beat man with baton for complaining about invalid Metro card at station, feds say
When a man’s invalid Metro card was confiscated at a train station, he complained to a nearby police officer — who federal prosecutors say responded by beating and choking him with a metal baton.
Now the former Washington, D.C., Metro Transit officer is facing up to a decade in prison after another officer, who watched the beating unfold, testified the unarmed man posed no “threat” at the subway station, according to prosecutors.
A jury found Andra Vance, 48, guilty of a civil rights violation on Nov. 16, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced in a news release.
The officer’s assault left the man needing 10 staples for a cut on his head, court documents state.
“As members of law enforcement, it is our sworn duty to uphold the law,” Matthew M. Graves, the U.S. attorney for the district, said in a statement. “A crime like this betrays that duty and the badge with which the defendant was entrusted.”
McClatchy News contacted Vance’s attorneys for comment on Nov. 17 and didn’t immediately receive a response.
The case goes back to February 2018 when the transit rider tried getting on a train at the Anacostia Metro station but was stopped by the station’s employees, according to prosecutors and court documents.
The man became angry when workers took his Metro card, preventing him from riding a train, the release says.
He approached Vance, who was on-duty, and as he complained, Vance immediately hit him in the head with a metal baton, prosecutors say. This caused the man to flee.
While he was running away, Vance chased him down and continued to pound his head and neck with the baton, causing him to bleed, according to prosecutors.
Ultimately, Vance tackled the man, court documents state. When he fell to the ground, Vance got on top of him and choked him with the metal baton as he “bled onto the sidewalk below,” the release says.
Another officer headed over and helped Vance handcuff the man before first responders arrived to treat his cut, according to prosecutors.
Vance repeatedly hit the man in the head “without legal justification,” prosecutors say.
The head of D.C.’s Metro Transit police, Chief Michael Anzallo, said in a statement that the department appreciates “the opportunity to hold (Vance) accountable for his actions.”
Although Vance was found guilty on one count of deprivation of rights, the jury acquitted him on a charge accusing him of choking the man, according to the release.
He is also facing a potential $250,000 fine alongside a prison sentence, prosecutors say.
This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 11:19 AM with the headline "Cop beat man with baton for complaining about invalid Metro card at station, feds say."
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