Justice Delayed: Ex-D.C. Cops Receive Lenient Sentences in Black Man’s Death

MJP –

For their roles in a 2020 pursuit that killed a young Black man and caused extensive civil upheaval in the nation’s capital following an attempted cover-up, a former police officer from Washington, D.C. was given a five-and-a-half year jail sentence and another was given a four-year sentence.

Former MPD officer Terence Sutton, who got the heavier sentence, and former Lt. Andrew Zabavsky were both released on bond after their federal court sentencing. They may have to wait several years for their appeals to be decided.

Since their arrest four years ago, both policemen have been suspended from their positions without pay. The charge was related to the pursuit that resulted in the death of 20-year-old Karon Hylton-Brown.

Using court records and witness statements, the Washington Post reports that the fatal pursuit wound its way across a 10-block stretch of the Brightwood Park neighborhood in Washington, DC, for a total of three minutes.

The pursuit ended suddenly when Hylton-Brown, riding a moped, burst out of an alley and crashed into a driving automobile.

He was propelled into the air by the impact and then his body slammed against the pavement, sustaining a severe brain injury that ultimately led to his demise two days later.

After two years of trial, Sutton was finally convicted on nine counts of second-degree murder, conspiracy, and obstructing justice. This made him the first police officer in the District of Columbia to be found guilty of murder for conduct committed while on duty.

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Zabavsky was found guilty of conspiring and obstructing justice, although he was not directly charged with the murder of Hylton-Brown.

On the evening of October 23, 2020, authorities determined that the pursuit that resulted in Hylton-Brown’s death was both careless and in breach of departmental protocol.

Zabavsky, 56, and Sutton, 40, subsequently deceived their superiors over the occurrence in order to obstruct the investigation.

“Public safety requires public trust,” stated District U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves in an online statement. “These kinds of crimes undermine confidence and bring shame on the community as well as the thousands of police officers who labor tirelessly, within the legal framework, to ensure our safety.”

Tensions between police and Black Lives Matter activists were at an all-time high when the deadly crash happened, five months after a Minneapolis police officer brutally murdered George Floyd.

According to testimony, Sutton was following Hylton-Brown in an unmarked vehicle, while prosecutors said that Zabavsky, who was a supervisor at the time, was using a marked vehicle to follow Hylton-Brown on parallel roadways and block his route.

The prosecution said that Hylton-Brown was not wearing a helmet when he was riding a moped on a sidewalk, which led Sutton to pursue him.

But it’s against department policy to pursue people for minor traffic infractions like this.

According to the defense, the officers had probable cause to suspect, based on police intelligence, that Hylton-Brown may have been plotting a crime in the vicinity that evening. As a result, the chase was lawful.

On the same night, prosecutors asserted that the officers at the 4th District station lied to their shift commander by denying the existence of a pursuit that led to the accident, downplaying the severity of Hylton-Brown’s injuries, and failing to report the crash.

Protesters flooded the 4th District police station four days later, when the story broke. There, cops resorted to pepper pellets and stun grenades in response to a violent mob that smashed windows, destroyed police vehicles, and yelled slurs.

The mother of the victim, Karen Hylton, was taken into custody and faced charges of assaulting a federal officer during a heated altercation that ensued in the courtroom following the reading of the verdict in December 2022, following the officers’ conviction.

Neither Sutton nor Zabavsky had testified throughout their trial, but before sentencing, they both addressed U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman with tears in their eyes, expressing sorrow for the first time.

In his condolences, Sutton expressed his sorrow over Karon Hylton-Brown’s passing. That was something I completely despised. The safety of the community was my first priority. This is the last thing I could have imagined, even in my worst nightmare.

“It was never our intention to see Karon injured,” Zabavsky said, turning to address the courtroom gallery as he stood before the judge. Like you, I will also have to learn to live with this. I can’t help but think about it daily.

Judge Friedman ruled that the 18-year sentence for Sutton and the 10-year sentence for Zabavsky were excessively harsh, as requested by the prosecution.

A fair sentence judgment was something that “agonized” Friedman because the cops’ records were otherwise impeccable.

Though they will stay free until an appeals court decides, the judge stressed that the cops’ attempt to conceal the details of the pursuit, rather than being honest with their superiors, was a major reason in his decision to release them.

Since neither officer was a flight risk or a danger to public safety, Judge Friedman decided not to immediately send Sutton and Zabavsky to prison but instead to release them.

“Could lead to a new trial if I was wrong,” he said, adding that there are “significant evidentiary questions” and complicated legal matters that an appeals court could interpret differently, meaning that any defendant might win his appeal.

The convictions were a component of a larger effort by the Washington, DC, U.S. Attorney’s Office to restore public trust in law enforcement, which has been weakened by persistent instances of police brutality against Black individuals.

A fervent controversy has broken up over the government’s initiative, though, as conservatives and advocates for law enforcement claim that cops are being politically unfairly singled out.

Several current and former police officials appeared before Judge Friedman during the sentencing phase, arguing that the charges against Sutton and Zabavsky were unfounded and might now impede field operations of law enforcement.