D.C. police officer charged with assaulting four co-workers at station houses
Washington DC Aug 16 2019 A D.C. police officer with nearly three decades on the force was arrested Wednesday and charged with touching three female colleagues without their consent and threatening a fourth person at station houses, according to a statement from the department and a court document.
Robert A. Anderson, 51, of Hanover, Md., was charged with several counts of simple assault and one count of threat to do bodily harm, all misdemeanors. He was freed Wednesday and ordered to return to court for a hearing Sept. 16.
In a brief phone interview, Anderson denied committing the offenses and said he had just received the charging papers and was reviewing them.
“No,” the officer said when asked whether the allegations were accurate. “That’s why I’m upset with all this.” Anderson then said perhaps somebody in the department is upset with him.
Anderson’s attorney, Elliott J. Queen, did not return calls and emails seeking comment.
Police said the investigation began when another police officer filed a complaint with the department’s Internal Affairs Division. The incidents happened in January and February at the Fifth District station in the 1800 block of Bladensburg Road NE and at the Fourth District station in the 6000 block of Georgia Avenue NW.
An arrest affidavit filed in D.C. Superior Court identifies two female complainants as officers and one as a civilian employee. The civilian employee is a man.
The women said Anderson touched their shoulders or hair, according to the affidavit.
One woman told police she “felt a strong presence and a slight touch of my hair,” the court document says. She told police she said, “Don’t do that, do not touch me.” Another woman told police that Anderson put his lips on her ear.
The male employee told police he intervened on behalf of two women and pushed the officer back. That man told police the officer took a knife with a serrated blade from his pocket and held it by his side.
Police said Anderson, who joined the department in 1990, was suspended with his police powers revoked.
“The Metropolitan Police Department does not condone any criminal or immoral conduct by an employee,” D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said in a statement. “Officer Anderson’s actions are disgraceful and not a representation of the men and women of this agency.”
washington post
