In response to President Trump’s January 22 pardon of two D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officers convicted for their roles in the 2020 murder of Karon Hylton-Brown, Monica Hopkins, Executive Director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia, said:
“Trump’s pardon of two Metropolitan Police Department officers convicted for their roles in the murder of Karon Hylton-Brown and subsequent coverup is an affront to both public safety and the legitimacy of law enforcement.
In this case, the jury found that Officer Sutton caused Mr. Hylton-Brown's death by illegally chasing him ‘at unreasonable speeds’ for ten blocks before trapping Mr. Hylton-Brown in a narrow alley, where he was struck by an oncoming driver. While Mr. Hylton-Brown laid unconscious in the street in a pool of his own blood, Officer Sutton conspired with Officer Zabavsky to cover up their crime by misleading their commanding officer, denying a police chase ever occurred, omitting the seriousness of Mr. Hylton Brown’s injuries, and falsifying a police report. Their actions were criminal and are an egregious affront to the justice system and the legitimacy of law enforcement. They were prosecuted by the US Attorney and held accountable for those criminal actions when a jury found them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Police abuse causes significant harm, costs millions of dollars, and undermines the whole justice system. When police officers are allowed to abuse their power without facing consequences, the public can understandably grow reluctant to interact with the criminal justice system at all.
People across the political spectrum want our leaders to prevent police misconduct and to hold officers accountable when they break the law, and especially not when they are convicted of murder and obstruction of justice.”