President Donald Trump pardoned two D.C. police officers convicted in connection with a man's death in October 2020.
Karon Hylton-Brown was riding a motorbike without a helmet as Officer Terrence Sutton pursued him in an unmarked car in Northwest D.C., prosecutors said. The chase went on for 10 blocks before Sutton followed Hylton-Brown down an alley at what prosecutors called unreasonable speed before Hylton-Brown left the alley and was hit by a car.
After the collision, Sutton and Lt. Andrew Zabavsky conspired to cover up what actually happened, prosecutors said.
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Sutton was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison. Zabavsky was convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice and given four years in prison. Both remained free on appeal.
“I am going to be letting two officers from Washington police, D.C., I believe they are from D.C., but I just approved it,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. “They were arrested, put in jail for five years, because they went after an illegal, and I guess something happened where something went wrong and they arrested the two officers and put them in jail for going after a criminal — a rough criminal, by the way — and I’m actually releasing.”
"Lt. Andrew Zabavsky thanks President Donald J. Trump for his decision to grant him a full and unconditional pardon," read a statement from the law firm representing Zabavsky.
“I anticipate the United States Attorney‘s Office will ask the court to vacate the jury’s guilty verdict and dismiss the indictment that was filed against Officer Sutton, as he has always been an innocent man,” Sutton's attorney Mike Hannon said in a statement.
Before the officers were pardoned Wednesday, Hylton-Brown’s mother released a statement that said, in part, "Per President Trump inauguration speech, he spoke of fairness. The pardoning of Sutton and Zabavsky isn't fairness. I have and am requesting that President Trump review this case before judgement.”
“As a mother, I am asking you don't pardon the murders (sic) of my baby Karon Hylton,” Karen Hylton said in the statement. “President Trump as the mother of a baby whom I love, I am requesting to speak with you privately … Please don't pardon Sutton and Zabavsky.
Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George issued a statement that read, in part, “Those officers were found guilty of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice, which are serious crimes. It’s unsafe to pardon acts like this. When any leader makes decisions based on political agenda instead of the law, it jeopardizes our safety.”
"The prosecutions of Officer Terence Sutton and Lieutenant Andrew Zabavsky were literally unprecedented," D.C. police said in a statement. "Never before, in any other jurisdiction in the country, has a police officer been charged with second-degree murder for pursuing a suspect. These members could never have imagined that engaging in a core function of their job would be prosecuted as a crime. The Department recognizes the risks involved in vehicle pursuits, which are reflected in our pursuit policy. But violations of that policy should be addressed through training and discipline — not through criminal prosecution.
In Trump’s comments, he referred to Hylton-Brown as an "illegal." News4 found no evidence he was in the country illegally, and D.C. police made no reference to his citizenship status having anything to do with why Hylton-Brown was being pursued the night he died.
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