A Baltimore police officer on Friday was sentenced to six months in jail for beating an unarmed man at a bus stop in June, an attack that was captured on surveillance video, reports the Baltimore Sun.
The sentence comes just weeks after a national furor erupted over the death of Freddie Gray, 25, from spinal injuries he received in police custody April 12. Six officers have been charged in Gray’s death, a case that brought new attention to persistent allegations of police brutality in black communities across the country.
Before the sentencing, Officer Vincent E. Cosom pleaded guilty to assault. The admission was part of an agreement reached with prosecutors, the report says. Cosom’s punishment includes a four-and-a-half-year suspended sentence, notes the report.
Cosom’s lawyer, Shaun Owens, said that his client had an “unblemished record” before the incident.
The assault came to light in September when the victim, Kollin Truss, filed a lawsuit against the police. The officer and Truss were engaged in a verbal confrontation when Cosom physically attacked Truss. The encounter was captured on surveillance video. The suit says that Truss was arrested, but officials at central booking said that he was too injured to be jailed and that they ordered medical treatment for him.
Investigators say that two other officers were involved in the incident and that their actions are under review. The Sun did not know their status Friday.
Read more at the Baltimore Sun.