A former Washington, D.C., police officer was sentenced to 5½ years in prison and another to four years for their roles in a 2020 chase that killed a young Black man and triggered widespread civil unrest in the nation’s capital after an attempted cover-up.
Following their sentencing in federal court, former Metropolitan Police Department officer Terence Sutton, who received the longer prison term, and former Lt. Andrew Zabavsky were released on bond pending the outcome of their appeals, a process that could take several years.
Both officers have been suspended without pay from the force since their indictment related to the chase that killed 20-year-old Karon Hylton-Brown four years ago.
The deadly pursuit snaked through a 10-block area of D.C.’s Brightwood Park neighborhood for three full minutes, according to the Washington Post, citing court documents and testimony.
The chase came to an abrupt end when Hylton-Brown emerged suddenly from an alley on his moped, where he slammed into a moving car.
The collision hurled him through the air before his body crashed hard on the pavement, leaving him with a severe head injury that caused his death two days later.
Two years later, a nine-week trial ended with Sutton’s conviction on charges of second-degree murder, conspiracy, and obstructing justice — making him the first D.C. police officer ever found guilty of murder for actions taken while on duty.
Zabavsky, who was not charged in direct connection with Hylton-Brown’s murder, was convicted of conspiracy and obstructing justice.
The chase that killed Hylton-Brown happened on the night of Oct. 23, 2020, was deemed by authorities as both reckless and a violation of department policy.
Sutton, 40, and Zabavsky, 56, then lied to their commanders about the incident to throw off the investigation.
“Public safety requires public trust,” Matthew M. Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District, said in a statement posted online. “Crimes like this erode trust and are a disservice to the community and the thousands of officers who work incredibly hard, within the bounds of the Constitution, to keep us safe.”
The fatal crash occurred five months after George Floyd’s brutal murder by a Minneapolis Police officer, while tensions across the country remained heightened between law enforcement and supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Testimony revealed Sutton was chasing Hylton-Brown in an unmarked car, while prosecutors said Zabavsky, a supervisor at the time, was driving a marked vehicle on parallel streets to intercept and block Hylton-Brown’s path.
Prosecutors said Sutton chased Hylton-Brown because he was riding the moped on a sidewalk and wasn’t wearing a helmet.
However, department policy prohibits chases for simple traffic violations like this.
The defense argued that the officers had reason to believe, based on police intelligence, that Hylton-Brown might have been planning to commit a crime in the area that night, saying this justified the pursuit by the officers.
That same night at the 4th District station, prosecutors claimed the officers lied to their shift commander by downplaying the crash, minimizing Hylton-Brown’s injuries, and failing to disclose the chase that brought about the accident.
Four days later, as the scandal came to light, a surge of protesters descended upon the 4th District police station, where a fierce crowd shattered windows, vandalized police vehicles, and hurled insults while officers retaliated with pepper pellets and stun grenades.
Following the officers’ conviction in December 2022, Karen Hylton, the victim’s mother, was arrested and charged with assaulting a federal officer after an emotional confrontation with the defendants in the courtroom after the verdict was read.
Before sentencing, both Sutton and Zabavsky, who had not testified during their trial, expressed remorse for the first time, with each officer shedding tears while addressing U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman.
Sutton said, “I am sorry for the loss of Karon Hylton-Brown. I never wanted that to happen. All I wanted to do was protect the community. … Never in my wildest nightmares did I think it would end like this.”
As Zabavsky stood before the judge, he turned to face the courtroom gallery and expressed his “deepest apologies,” saying, “It was never our intention to see Karon injured. This is something that I, too, will have to live with. It goes through my mind every day.”
Prosecutors had asked for an 18-year sentence for Sutton and 10 years for Zabavsky, but Judge Friedman said he considered these terms too severe.
Friedman explained that he “agonized” over a fair sentencing decision due to the officers’ otherwise exemplary personal and professional records.
Despite this, the judge emphasized that the officers’ attempt to cover up the details of the pursuit—rather than being forthright with their superiors—factored heavily into his decision to send them away, though they will remain free until an appeals court issues a ruling.
Judge Friedman chose to release Sutton and Zabavsky instead of sending them immediately to prison, citing that neither officer posed a flight risk or a threat to public safety.
He also noted that each defendant might succeed in his appeal due to “significant evidentiary questions” and complex legal issues that could be interpreted differently by an appeals court, which “could lead to a new trial if I was wrong.”
The prosecutions were part of a broader initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. to rebuild public confidence in policing, which has been eroded by ongoing incidents of police violence against Black people.
However, the government’s effort has sparked a heated debate, with conservatives and law enforcement advocates asserting that officers are being unfairly targeted for political reasons.
During the sentencing phase, a number of current and former police officials testified before Judge Friedman, asserting that the case against Sutton and Zabavsky was unwarranted and might now serve to hinder law enforcement actions in the field.
