Trump issued pardons for 2 killer previously convicted in the case involving the death of a Black individual in Washington
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has granted a "full and unconditional pardon" to two Washington D.C. police officers who were previously convicted of murdering a young Black man.
Former President Donald Trump has granted full clemency to Lieutenant Andrew Zabavsky and Officer Terence Sutton of the Metropolitan Police Department. This decision follows a 2020 incident involving a police chase that led to the death of 20-year-old Karon Hylton Brown, a Black man.
Former President Donald Trump asserted on Tuesday that two officers faced a five-year incarceration following their pursuit of an individual who was in the country illegally. Trump suggested that an unspecified incident occurred leading to charges against the officers, resulting in their imprisonment for actions taken against a criminal, according to his statement.
In a sweeping move following the granting of clemency to almost 1,600 individuals implicated in the 2021 Capitol assault, former President Donald Trump has announced pardons for Sutton and Zabavsky. These two individuals had been sentenced to five and four years in prison, respectively, just last year.
The DC Police Union has lauded former President Trump’s clemency decision for the two officers, describing it as a correction of “an incredible wrong.”
Recent reports from the United States indicate a significant disparity in the rate of fatal police shootings across different ethnic groups.
Between 2015 and December 2024, Black Americans were reportedly subject to a rate of 6.2 fatal police shootings per million people each year, significantly higher than the 2.4 fatal shootings per million annually experienced by white Americans.
In April 2021, a former police officer in Minnesota was involved in the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old Black man. The officer has been sentenced to a two-year prison term.
In a recent judiciary development, a 49-year-old American officer, Jeremy Cooper, was convicted in December 2023 for criminally negligent homicide related to the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain.
Cooper has been sentenced to 14 months in a work release program, followed by four years of probation, by a Colorado court, US media sources report. This sentence includes a work release provision.
The most recent pardons were issued in the wake of a renewed wave of protests against police brutality, sparked by the brutal killing of George Floyd by police officers in the United States in May 2020.
Reports of police brutality, especially targeting individuals of color accused of minor offenses, have been a persistent issue throughout the United States, with incidents not limited to Louisiana but occurring nationwide.
Systemic racism within US law enforcement agencies significantly contributes to the excessive use of force against marginalized communities, including Muslims, Asian Americans, Latinos, and particularly African Americans.
