Executive Grant of Clemency for Andrew Zabavsky – The White House
Executive Grant of Clemency for Terence Sutton – The White House
Trump was asked if his decision to pardon, commute or dismiss the cases of more than 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants sent the message that it was OK to assault police.
“No, the opposite. In fact, I’m going to be letting two officers from Washington police D.C., I believe they’re from D.C., but I just approved it,” Trump said. “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… no I’m the friend, I am the friend of police more than any president who’s ever been in this office.”
Hylton-Brown was a U.S. citizen and not in the country illegally.
Hylton-Brown was killed in 2020 when he pulled his electric moped into oncoming traffic while fleeing from Sutton, who had attempted to stop him for riding on the sidewalk and without a helmet. Sutton chased Hylton-Brown through the Brightwood Park neighborhood and attempted to cover up the fatal crash that followed.
The pursuit violated the department's policy, which prohibited officers from chasing suspects for minor traffic offenses.
Zabavsky, who was not charged with murder, was convicted of attempting to help Sutton cover up the crash and was sentenced in September 2024 to four years in prison.