Two D.C. police officers were sentenced to prison time on Thursday after a jury found that an officer chased a 20-year-old moped rider, the rider got into a deadly crash and the officers conspired to block the investigation.
After an emotional three-day hearing in federal court, a judge sentenced Officer Terrence Sutton to 5 1/2 years in prison for the 2020 death of Karon Hylton-Brown. Sutton was convicted in 2022 of second-degree murder, conspiracy to obstruct and obstruction of justice.
Sutton was the first D.C. officer to be convicted of murder in the line of duty.
Lt. Andrew Zabavsky was sentenced to four years after his 2022 conviction for conspiracy to obstruct and obstruction of justice.
The officers will appeal and were allowed to go home on Thursday. U.S. Marshals had them escorted out through a back entrance, out of fear for their safety.
Sutton’s attorney criticized the sentence.
“This is the most unjust prosecution and sentence that I have ever experienced, and I have always respected this judge. But I’m deeply disappointed,” Candace Hernandez said.
The mother of Hylton-Brown’s child, Amaala Jones-Bey, said she was happy the judge had “an unbiased opinion through the whole trial.”
A moped ride ended in a deadly crash
Sutton started pursuing Karon Hylton-Brown, who was riding a moped on the sidewalk in the Brightwood Park area of Northwest D.C. on Oct. 23, 2020. Sutton chased Hylton-Brown for several minutes, until the moped rider exited an alley and was hit by an oncoming driver.
Hylton-Brown suffered severe head trauma and died in a hospital two days later. He was the father of an infant.
His death sparked protests, including outside the Fourth District police station.
The U.S. Attorney for D.C. says Sutton and Zabavsky failed to preserve the crash scene for investigators and turned off their body cameras.
“As Mr. Hylton-Brown lay unconscious in the street in a pool of his own blood, Sutton and Zabavsky agreed to cover up what Sutton had done to prevent any further investigation of the incident,” the office said in a statement.
At the police station, the officers denied that a chase occurred, falsely implied that Hylton-Brown was drunk and downplayed his injuries, prosecutors said.
The judge said that with the sentences, he wanted to send a message about the officers’ behavior and the cover-up that followed.
In court, Sutton said he was sorry for the loss of Hylton-Brown. Zabavsky directly addressed the victim’s family and apologized. He went on to speak about his need to care for his mother, who he said has dementia.
The officers’ appeals are expected to be filed in the coming days. An attorney for the mother of Hylton-Brown’s child said he will file a civil suit against the Metropolitan Police Department.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
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