HICKORY, N.C. — A former Hickory police officer accused of slamming a woman to the pavement in 2013 was resentenced by a federal judge Thursday.
The judge resentenced former police Sgt. Robert George to three years in prison, according to reports.
Channel 9′s Dave Flaherty said the judge gave George credit for the 20 months of probation from his first sentence in 2019. However, the judge said George “abused his position of trust” and gave him a 36-month active sentence in prison.
A camera outside of the Hickory Police Department caught the November 2013 incident on video.
In court, the judge said George’s conduct was “horrendous” and what happened was a “violent act intentionally done.”
In court, George said “he was deeply sorry and that he lives with what happened every day.”
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George was originally convicted of using unreasonable force during the arrest. A federal appeals court found that the original district judge was too sympathetic to the former officer.
In the graphic video, George pulls 24-year-old Chelsea Doolittle out of the back of his patrol car while handcuffed and tosses her on to the pavement. The next day, police released a mugshot of Doolittle where she was badly hurt in the incident.
In January of 2019, George was convicted of using unreasonable force in the case but the judge only sentenced him to four years of probation. The judge at the time said that George lost his grip. The judge described it as “almost accidental” but the appeals court said the sentence was at odds with the jury’s conclusion as well as the video.
The assault also led to a civil lawsuit against the city of Hickory that was settled for $400,000.
Prosecutors appealed the conviction. During the original sentencing, they said they believed six to seven years of prison time was appropriate.
>> Channel 9′s Dave Faherty has covered this case from the beginning and will be in federal court when George faces a new judge Thursday afternoon. He’ll have an update on Eyewitness News starting at 5 p.m.
(WATCH BELOW: Woman speaks out for first time about injuries she suffered at hands of Hickory police officer)
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