A late-night confrontation inside a Northeast D.C. McDonald’s has ended with a yearlong federal prison sentence for the security officer who turned a tense arrest into a civil-rights crime.
On Thursday, former D.C. special police officer Brigette O. Robertson was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison for stomping on a detained patron’s face while the person was already held on the floor by Metropolitan Police Department officers. Robertson had previously admitted to depriving the patron of their constitutional rights while acting under color of law.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Robertson, 40, pleaded guilty on July 22, 2025, and was sentenced on February 19, 2026, to a one-year term in federal custody for a misdemeanor count of deprivation of rights under color of law.
What happened at the McDonald’s
Court records and local coverage describe the June 24, 2023, incident as starting with a verbal dispute between Robertson, who was in uniform working for Specific Protection Services, and a patron at the McDonald’s in the 3900 block of Minnesota Avenue NE. After Metropolitan Police Department officers had the patron on the ground and under control, Robertson walked over and stomped on the person’s face, causing pain and bleeding, according to WJLA.
Plea and prosecution
Robertson entered her guilty plea on July 22, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich, a development previously announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Truscott.
Legal context
Federal civil-rights cases arising from police use of force usually hinge on whether prosecutors can prove an officer acted “willfully,” a demanding legal standard that officials say makes such prosecutions difficult to bring, as noted by Federal Newswire. Even so, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said it remains committed to reviewing serious allegations of excessive force and pursuing charges when the evidence supports them.
Robertson will serve her sentence in federal custody. The case has again thrown a spotlight on private armed security officers who hold special police authority in the District, an issue highlighted in recent reporting by WJLA. For victims and accountability advocates, the outcome underscores how difficult it can be to police the use of force by officers, even when the line is crossed in front of other law enforcement.
