Former MPD Officer Pleads Guilty to Illegal Supplementation of Pay
Provided Unauthorized Protection to Liquor Store for Cash

WASHINGTON—Nathaniel Anderson, a former officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), pled guilty today to a misdemeanor charge stemming from payments he received while an MPD officer for providing unauthorized protection to a liquor store in the District of Columbia, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

Anderson, 31, pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before Magistrate Judge Alan Kay to a charge of illegal supplementation of pay. The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year of incarceration and a fine of up to $100,000. Based on federal sentencing guidelines, the likely range is eight to 12 months of incarceration with a fine of $2,000 to $20,000. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.

According to a statement of offense filed with the court, Anderson began work in August 1997 as an MPD officer. On November 25, 2006, two armed men robbed a liquor store in the Second Police District. Shortly after the robbery, in or around December 2006, Anderson and three other MPD officers, all assigned to the Second Police District, agreed to provide protection to the store in exchange for approximately $25 in cash per night.

From that date until in or around May 2009, Anderson and the other officers agreed to take turns providing protection at closing time in exchange for the money.

Anderson and two of the other officers provided this protection while on duty and in uniform, driving their marked MPD vehicles around closing time to the store. The fourth officer generally provided this protection while off-duty and out of uniform.

Anderson provided protection to the store approximately two times per week while on duty and in uniform, receiving a total of approximately $4,000 from the store for these services.

On or about February 10, 2009, Anderson was on duty and providing this unauthorized protection when he delayed responding to an incident where his presence as an officer was needed. He provided misinformation to the police dispatcher to enable him to continue providing the unauthorized protection to the establishment.

This case remains under investigation.

In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the investigative efforts of special agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington Field Office and MPD’s Internal Affairs Division. He also recognized the efforts of U.S. Attorney’s Office Paralegal Specialist Tasha Harris and Legal Assistant Jared Forney. Finally, he commended the efforts of Assistant United States Attorneys Vasu B. Muthyala and Michael K. Atkinson, who prosecuted the case.