Trump pardoned two police officers accused of murdering a black man in Washington
By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – United States Republican President Donald Trump In 2020, the White House announced that Washington pardoned two police officers accused of murdering a 20-year-old black man named Caron Hylton-Brown.
In September 2024, Terence Sutton Jr. was sentenced to 66 months in prison and Andrew Zabawski was sentenced to 48 months in prison. The officers remain free pending the outcome of their appeal.
The Metropolitan Police Department said Sutton, who is in his early 40s, and Zabowski, who is in his mid-50s, “are pending an indefinite suspension without pay pending our administrative process.”
Sutton was found guilty in late 2022, after a nine-week trial, of second-degree murder, conspiracy to obstruct and obstruction of justice. Zabowski pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct and obstruct justice.
The jury found that Sutton’s driving of the police vehicle caused Hylton-Brown’s death by causing the death of Hylton-Brown or causing serious bodily injury to Hylton-Brown.
He also found that Sutton and Zabowski conspired to conceal from authorities the circumstances of the traffic accident that led to Hylton-Brown’s death.
The DC Police Union apologized to the two officers.
Sutton’s attorney, Kellen Dwyer, said in a statement quoted by CNN that he and his client “are confident that the D.C. Circuit will overturn this conviction, but we are very pleased that President Trump has dismissed this case once and for all.” Zabawski’s attorney, Christopher Zampogna, also thanked Trump.
Hylton-Brown’s mother, Karen Hylton, told CNN before the announcement that she was shocked and cried when she learned of the possible pardon.
The incident occurred months after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes. That killing sparked protests in the US and around the world against police brutality and racial inequality.
After taking office on Monday, Trump pardoned 1,500 supporters who attacked the US Capitol four years ago on January 6, 2021. Among those pardoned were those who attacked police officers.
In the year The Brotherhood of Police, the largest police union that backed Trump in the 2024 election, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police said in a joint statement that they were “deeply disappointed” by those pardons.