A D.C. police officer is accused of touching three female coworkers without their consent and threatening a male civilian employee who reportedly came to their defense.
Robert A. Anderson, 51, of Hanover, Maryland, was arrested Wednesday on charges of simple assault and threat to do bodily harm. He was suspended from the force and agreed to appear in court next month.
Anderson has been with D.C. police since 1990 and is assigned to the Fifth District, which covers much of Northeast, including Brookland, Ivy City, Trinidad and Woodridge.
Police said he is accused of touching his co-workers while he was on duty between January and February at police stations in the Fourth and Fifth districts. An arrest affidavit says two of the women were fellow officers.
In one of the incidents, court documents say one woman told police Anderson caressed her hair this spring and another said he put his lips on her ear. The civilian told police he intervened and shoved Anderson, who he says threatened him with a serrated blade.
The 29-year department veteran from Maryland denied the allegations to The Washington Post.
D.C. police Chief Pete Newsham said in a statement that Anderson’s actions were “disgraceful,” and that the department does not condone criminal or immoral conduct by an employee.
