Halfmoon

A former police officer who slapped a man during a traffic stop and pleaded guilty to official misconduct was fined, but the judge declined to sentence him to probation.

Shawn R. Glans, a former Saratoga County sheriff's sergeant, pleaded guilty Tuesday to the misdemeanor as well as harassment, a violation.

Town Justice Lester Wormuth rejected the prosecution's request to sentence Glans to three years of probation. The judge instead ordered Glans to pay $1,505 in fines by May 21 and stay away from Colin Fitch for a year.

Fitch is the 20-year-old man whom Glans slapped during a traffic stop in a Wal-Mart parking lot on Route 9 during the early morning hours of Nov. 7. Fitch's friend, Adam Roberts, captured the incident on his cellphone, and the video was posted on the sheriff's office Facebook page.

Glans, 48, resigned from the force days after the video appeared.

Glans also quit from his job as a part-time South Glens Falls police officer. On Tuesday, he admitted that while on duty he "did knowingly commit unauthorized physical acts in seeking to secure and expedite the search of a vehicle with an intent to benefit himself."

The harassment charge states Glans slapped Fitch "in the back of the head with an open hand."

As he walked out of the court Tuesday, he said he was glad to put the episode behind him. His attorney, Matt Chauvin of Halfmoon, called Wormuth's sentence "the best possible outcome" for his client. Chauvin said there was more to what happened than what the video showed.

"They were baiting Mr. Glans," Chauvin said outside the court.

Inside the courtroom, Special Prosecutor Brandon Rathbun, a Washington County assistant district attorney, argued before the judge that law enforcement officers needed to be held to a higher standard than civilians.

He asked Wormuth to impose a sentence for Glans that included the probation, anger management classes, community service and an order of protection.

Chauvin said Glans said "one misdemeanor, one moment in time" shouldn't erase Glans' more than 27 years in the. Marines and police departments without a prior criminal offense. The attorney said that while Glans was not proud of what happened Nov. 7, he had resigned and didn't need to undergo anger management.

Wormuth sided with Chauvin, though he did agree to the prosecution's request for the order of protection.

"We respect the judge's decision," Rathbun said after the verdict and sentencing.

Roberts' video of Glans appeared at a time when the public's attention was focused on cases of police violence nationwide.

According to the sheriff's office, Glans and other deputies encountered Fitch and Roberts in the parking lot around 2:30 a.m. while responding to a report of a sighting of a suspicious person or persons. Glans said he saw a .22-caliber rifle in Fitch's car and wanted to search the vehicle.

The sergeant grew agitated when Fitch refused to consent to his request. Glans responded that he could "rip your (expletive) head off and (expletive) down your neck," according to the video. The video then captures a loud slapping sound.

dyusko@timesunion.com • 518-454-5353 • @DAYusko