The president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced this Wednesday a “total and unconditional” pardon for two Washington Police officers who had been convicted of the death of the African-American Karon Hylton-Brown, 20 years old, a case that caused massive protests after the murder of George Floyd.
The two agents affected by this measure are Andrew Zabavsky and Terence Sutton, who in October 2020 saw Hylton-Brown driving without a helmet and they chased him at high speed until he was finally hit by an uninvolved vehicle and died.
As Hylton-Brown lay in the street, The agents covered up the facts, turning off the cameras they were wearing in their uniforms, and manipulated the evidence. at the scene of the incident and deceived their superiors about what happened.
Conspiracy to obstruct and obstruction of justice
Sutton was found guilty of second degree murder, conspiracy to obstruct and obstruction of justice and sentenced to 66 months in prison. Zabavsky was convicted of conspiracy to obstruct and obstruction of justice and faced 48 months in prison.
The Washington Police Union had requested the White House pardon the officers, released on bail pending the appeal of their case. His legal teams had also asked for a presidential pardon, as reported by the American television network CNN.
Trump had recently referred to these pardons, since this week, when he was asked if his decision to pardon the Capitol attackers on January 6, 2021 It sent the message that it was okay to attack the Police.
“Quite the opposite. In fact, I am going to allow two agents… (who) were arrested, imprisoned (…) because they pursued an illegal, and I guess something went wrong and they were arrested. A dangerous criminal, indeed. “I am a better friend of the Police than anyone who has been in this office,” he declared.
