United States of America (USA) President, Donald Trump
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday pardoned two police officers from Washington, D.C., who were convicted for their roles in the 2020 death of 20-year-old Karon Hylton-Brown, a Black man.
In September 2024, Terence Sutton Jr. was sentenced to 66 months in prison, and Andrew Zabavsky received a 48-month sentence following an unauthorized police chase that led to a fatal collision on October 23, 2020, in Northwest Washington, D.C.
The White House stated that both officers were free pending the outcome of their appeals.
The Metropolitan Police Department had placed Sutton, in his early 40s, and Zabavsky, in his mid-50s, on indefinite suspension without pay, pending administrative procedures.
Sutton was convicted by a federal jury in late 2022 after a nine-week trial of second-degree murder, conspiracy to obstruct, and obstruction of justice. Zabavsky was found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct and obstruction of justice.
The jury determined that Sutton caused Hylton-Brown’s death by driving a police vehicle in a manner that showed conscious disregard for the risk of death or serious injury. Both officers were also found to have conspired to conceal the details of the fatal crash.
The DC Police Union had advocated for the officers’ pardon.
Kellen Dwyer, Sutton’s attorney, stated that while they believed the D.C. Circuit would have overturned the conviction, they were pleased that President Trump ended the prosecution.
Hylton-Brown’s mother, Karen Hylton, reacted with shock and grief upon learning about the pardons.
The incident occurred months after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice.
This latest action follows Trump’s pardoning of approximately 1,500 supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, shortly after he resumed office earlier this week.
