President Trump on Wednesday granted full and unconditional pardons to two Washington, D.C., police officers who were sentenced to prison for pursuing and covering up a fatal motorcycle crash.
Last September, former D.C. Metropolitan Police Department police officer Terrence Sutton was sentenced to 66 months in prison, and former Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Andrew Zabowski was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a “fraudulent police pursuit” of Karon Hilton Brown. was sentenced to 48 months in prison. Death of an old man.
The Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit organization helping Sutton and Zabowski fight their criminal charges, said it was “extremely grateful” for Trump's pardon.
“This unprecedented case was a miscarriage of justice from the beginning,” the group said in a statement.
“Anti-police bias and political opportunism led politicians and prosecutors to pursue these officers with reckless disregard for the facts of the case.”
“Karon Hilton-Brown's death, while tragic, was a direct result of his decision to flee a completely legal stop. Neither officer caused or was involved in his death. I didn't commit a crime.”
In October 2020, Hilton-Brown led police officers on a high-speed chase through Washington, D.C., pursued by Sutton and Zabowski, before crashing his moped into an innocent motorist as he exited an alley. Died.
“Mr. Hilton-Brown, who was unarmed, ignored Sutton's attempts to stop him and drove away,” federal prosecutors said.
“Ms. Sutton then began chasing Ms. Hilton-Brown through neighborhood streets for several minutes and over 10 blocks at an excessive speed, at one point driving the wrong way down a one-way street.”
After Hilton Brown, who was not wearing a helmet, wrecked his motorcycle, the Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement that Sutton and Zabavsky were arrested in order to prevent further investigation into the incident. “We agreed to cover up Sutton's actions.” after their sentencing hearing.
“The jury found that Sutton caused Mr. Hilton-Brown's death by operating his patrol vehicle with conscious disregard for the extreme risk of death or serious injury to Mr. Hilton-Brown. “We find that Sutton and Zabowski conspired to hide from Mr. Hilton-Brown. Police disclosed the circumstances of the traffic accident that resulted in Mr. Hilton-Brown's death, thereby obstructing justice,” the prosecutor added. Ta.
The deadly chase occurred just months after the riots that swept through Washington, D.C., following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020.
Former U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves said Sutton and Zabafsky's actions eroded the public's trust in law enforcement and said they were doing “an incredible amount of work within the Constitution to protect our communities and keep us safe.” “This is a disservice to the thousands of hard-working police officers.” ”
On Inauguration Day, President Trump, 78, teased that Sutton and Zabowski would soon be pardoned, prompting Hilton Brown's mother to issue a statement opposing the pardon.
“As a mother, please don't forgive the murder (sic) of my baby Karon Hilton,” Karen Hilton said, according to NBC 4 Washington.
“President Trump, as the mother of a baby I love, I want to speak to you personally… Please do not forgive Mr. Sutton and Mr. Zabowski.”
Since returning to the White House, President Trump has also pardoned more than 1,500 prisoners from the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.
