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Ex-METRO officer sentenced in 2016 beating of sleeping man at rail station

A former METRO police officer was sentenced to a month behind bars Thursday for beating up a man who was sleeping at a light rail station.

A jury on Wednesday convicted 24-year-old Jairus Warren of assault bodily injury for the September 2016 incident in which he hit the man 15 times with his duty baton.

The rookie officer stepped down from the job that same month after an internal investigation determined he should be fired for use of excessive force. The incident was caught on surveillance footage.

“We are happy that they carried it through,” said Tim Kelly, executive vice president for operations, public safety and customer service at Metro. “And we respect the ruling.”

As part of his punishment, Warren will serve 30 days in jail and wear an ankle monitor afterward with a curfew, Harris County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Dane Schiller said. He will spend two years on probation, during which time he will be prohibited from consuming drugs or alcohol and handling weapons.

He was also ordered to undergo a batterers intervention program, Schiller said.

“Police officers are afforded a great deal of responsibility and trust by the community and when they violate that trust they should be held accountable and that is what the jury has done,” said Assistant District Attorney Jules Johnson, head of the Civil Rights Division.

At the time of the assault, Darrell Giles was arrested on charges of trespassing and resisting arrest. The charges were later dropped.

Staff writer Dug Begley contributed to this report.

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