April 11, 2023 The judge told Ex-Chester FF Robert Sanford he should have known the danger of throwing a fire extinguisher.
Source Firehouse.com News
A retired Chester Fire Department firefighter was sentenced to prison Tuesday for attacking three police officers with a fire extinguisher during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
Robert Sanford, 57, was sentenced to four years for one count of assaulting police with a dangerous weapon, WUSA9 reported.
Prosecutors wanted him to serve five years as they outlined the injuries officers suffered after being hit in the head with the extinguishers.
One officer struck by Sanford suffered swelling on his head and another another went to the hospital for a medical examination.
Sanford’s attorney, Andrew M. Stewart, argued for a lower sentence of a year and a day in prison. He said the officer’s injury was not significant enough to warrant an enhancement for causing bodily injury.
Sanford apologized to the officers he struck and to his fellow firefighters, saying he only came to the nation’s capital to hear Trump’s speech.
“Mob mentality is real and I got caught up in it,” Sanford said adding he has been meeting with an anti-cult counselor.
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman said Sanford’s case was difficult because of his spotless record and his more than two decades as a firefighter. But, he said, that cut both ways.
“I don’t think this was minor. And of all people, a firefighter of 27 years should have known that.”
The judge disagreed with Sanford’s attorney’s argument for a lighter punishment.
He sentenced Sanford to serve 52 months in federal prison, with credit for the eight months he’s served. He will also have to spend three years under supervision once released and pay $3,798 in restitution to one of the officers he struck to pay for medical expenses, as well as $2,000 to the Architect of the Capitol for damages caused during the riot.