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ST. LOUIS — A former Woodson Terrace police officer was sentenced to five years probation on Tuesday after pleading guilty to a federal civil rights charge for kicking a man’s head during a 2019 arrest.

Several letters of support, submitted to the court by David W. Maas’ former colleagues and bosses, were at the center of arguments by both defense attorneys and prosecutors.

Maas’ lawyer, Neil Bruntrager, argued the support showed his client’s dedication to his family, community and career of 30 years. Letter writers said he was regularly cool under pressure, quick to de-escalate situations and served as a model of good policing.

“Mr. Maas performed well as both ‘guardian’ and ‘warrior’ in our profession,” wrote St. John police Chief Robert Connell. “He brought experience, ability and compassion to each and every call we worked together on.”

But federal prosecutors said those same letters — some of which argued against Maas’ conviction and tried to justify his crime — showed signs of lingering law enforcement attitudes that favored “old-school street justice” instead of respect for the rights of everyone, including detainees.

“It is a civil rights violation,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug. “It’s a crime.”

The case dates back to April 14, 2019, when police received a call about a man carjacking a woman while she loaded groceries into her car at the Schnucks on St. Charles Rock Road and North Lindbergh Boulevard.

Police from several North County municipalities chased the vehicle across several cities along St. Charles Rock Road and Dr. Martin Luther King Drive before it turned onto a dead-end street in Wellston, according to court documents.

The driver of the car, Isaiah Forman, then made a U-turn and hit a St. Ann police car. Prosecutors say Forman’s passenger got out and ran, but Forman put his hands in the air and was lowering himself onto the ground when Maas came up and kicked him in the head. Forman was later sentenced to seven years in prison for the incident.

Krug, the federal prosecutor, said Tuesday that Maas did not report the incident or notify his superiors that he had been in a chase that night. Instead, they learned about his involvement when TV station KMOV prepared to publish a story featuring officer dash cam footage of the assault.

“The defendant was not doing his job,” Krug said. “He had no business being in that pursuit.”

Krug argued Maas should be sentenced to 16 months of home confinement instead of prison because of his severe medical problems. She said some of the officers who wrote letters on Maas’ behalf had been embroiled in federal civil rights lawsuits of their own, and a stiff sentence would encourage others to do better.

But Maas’ attorney, Bruntrager, argued his client should be sentenced only to probation. Bruntrager read excerpts from dozens of letters that highlighted Maas’ commitment to his children and how he frequently gave away money and other charitable acts.

In one letter, a current police officer talked about the day in 2011 when he was called to his first death investigation. A body had been left for two months during the summer in a home without air conditioning. From the outside, the windows looked black because of all of the flies circling the corpse.

The smell was so overwhelming and the scene so gruesome that the officer said he thought about quitting. But Maas gave him a piece of advice: Keep it simple and complete one task at a time.

The officer said Maas’ advice and support stopped him from quitting that day. Others had similar stories.

“He impacted so many lives,” Bruntrager said. “The picture of this man — it’s in the letters.”

Maas said he tried during his 30-year career to serve honestly and with integrity. He then apologized to his family and loved ones for his current situation.

Judge Henry Autrey contemplated Maas’ sentence, speaking about the importance of the oath officers take to serve and protect the public.

“When you raise that hand,” he said, “that should mean something. And you’re bound by that. There’s nothing that should justify wavering from that oath.”

Autrey then sided with Maas’ lawyers, sentencing the former cop to five years of probation, including six months of location monitoring.