Washington, D.C

Trump pardons two D.C. officers convicted in fatal chase and cover-up

Published

1 year ago

January 23, 2025

Trump pardons two D.C. officers convicted in fatal chase and cover-up

President Donald Trump issued full and unconditional pardons Wednesday to two Washington, D.C., police officers who were convicted for their roles in a deadly chase of a young man on a moped in 2020 and subsequent cover-up, a case that led to protests in the nation’s capital.

Trump granted clemency to Metropolitan Police Department Officer Terence Sutton, who was sentenced in September to more than five years in prison. He faced a District of Columbia charge of second-degree murder, and federal charges of conspiracy to obstruct and obstruction of justice in the October 2020 unauthorized pursuit that killed Karon Hylton-Brown, 20. Sutton was the first D.C. police officer to be convicted of murder for conduct while on duty.

The same jury that found Sutton guilty also convicted Andrew Zabavsky, a lieutenant who supervised Sutton, of conspiracy to obstruct and obstruction of justice. Zabavsky was sentenced to four years in prison. He was not accused of the more serious charge of second-degree murder. Trump granted Zabavsky clemency.

Both men had been free pending the outcome of their appeals.

Trump had hinted of his plans to pardon them after his inauguration.

“They were arrested, put in jail for five years because they went after an illegal,” Trump said Tuesday. “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.”

Hylton-Brown was an American citizen, said David Shurtz, an attorney representing his estate.

The D.C. Police Union praised Trump’s decision, saying in a statement that Sutton had been “wrongly charged by corrupt prosecutors for doing his job.”

“This action rights an incredible wrong that not only harmed Officer Sutton, but also crippled the ability for the department to function,” the union said.

The union expressed “dismay” a day earlier after Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including those who assaulted law enforcement officers.

The Metropolitan Police Department thanked Trump “for supporting its officers” after the Sutton-Zabavsky pardons, adding in a statement that the prosecutions “were literally unprecedented.”

“Never before, in any other jurisdiction in the country, has a police officer been charged with second-degree murder for pursuing a suspect,” the department said.

On the night of Oct. 23, 2020, months after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis had ignited widespread protests against police brutality and racial injustice, Sutton used a police car to chase Hylton-Brown, who was driving a moped without a helmet on a sidewalk in northwest Washington, prosecutors said.

Hylton-Brown ignored Sutton’s attempt to stop him and drove off. Sutton chased Hylton-Brown for more than 10 blocks “at unreasonable speeds,” prosecutors said, and, at one point, drove the wrong way on a one-way street. Sutton followed Hylton-Brown into a narrow alley, turned off his car’s emergency lights and siren and accelerated. When Hylton-Brown exited the alley, he was struck by another vehicle, according to prosecutors.

“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,” prosecutors said in a statement in September.

The officers allowed the driver whose car struck Hylton-Brown to leave the scene within 20 minutes of the crash, then turned off their body-worn cameras, conferred privately and left, prosecutors said.

Sutton drove his police car directly over the crash site, audibly crushing pieces of debris from the collision as he left, prosecutors said, and neither officer contacted the department’s Major Crash Unit or its Internal Affairs Division to each initiate investigations.

They also misled their commanding officer about the severity of the crash, denying that a police chase had even occurred and omitting any mention of Hylton-Brown’s critical injuries, prosecutors said. According to prosecutors, Zabavsky also falsely implied that Hylton-Brown had been drunk and Sutton drafted a false police report.

Hylton-Brown suffered severe head trauma and died two days later.

“The jury in this case found the defendants guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for their roles in the murder of Karon Hylton Brown and a related cover up, affirming that what happened here was a serious crime,” then-U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said in September after the officers were sentenced. “Public safety requires public trust. Crimes like this erode that trust and are a disservice to the community and the thousands of officers who work incredibly hard, within the bounds of the Constitution, to keep us safe.”

The case spurred days of protests outside a police station in Washington.

Shurtz, the attorney representing Hylton-Brown’s relatives, said Trump’s decision was “outrageous” and “misguided.”

“I think it’s one of the worst decisions Trump has ever made,” he said. “And I believe he is being ill-advised.”

Shurtz believes police unions influenced the decision for the officers to receive pardons.

Zabavsky’s attorney, Christopher Zampogna, said in a statement that his client “thanks President Trump for issuing his pardon unconditionally.” J. Michael Hannon, Sutton’s attorney, did not immediately return a request for comment.

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Washington, D.C

Storm Team4 forecast, Enjoy a pleasant start to the week with temperatures in the 70s

Published

3 hours ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Storm Team4 forecast, Enjoy a pleasant start to the week with temperatures in the 70s

4 things to know about the weather:

“May” not “March” for now
Next rain late Wednesday, Thursday
Back to average by Friday
Much colder next Week

The warmer weather we’ve waited months for will be with us for only three more days before the March Lion starts to roar again.

Monday and Tuesday will be the best days of the week by far. Sunny skies and temperatures running 20-25° above average. Plan for highs reaching the low 70s Monday and near 80° on Tuesday.

A series of cold fronts later in the week will send temperatures back to average 54° by the end of the week and then well below average for most of next week.

Clouds will return by Wednesday morning and rain chances will arrive no later than sunset. Wednesday will still be close to 80° and have our first taste of humidity in a while. Rain is likely from Wednesday evening through noon on Thursday as our first cold front arrives.

Thursday’s highs, likely near 70°, will occur before sunrise but gusty northwest winds will have temperatures falling steadily throughout the day. Expect temperatures in the 50s, rain for the morning commute and 40s with rain ending for the ride home.

Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.

Warm streak won’t last long

The good news is that Friday and the upcoming weekend look dry. Highs will be back in the mid-50s for Friday and Saturday but Sunday should get back into the mid-60s.

Another cold front will arrive early next week leading to temperatures running 10-15° below average. It’s also not entirely out of the question that there could be a wet snowflake or two on St. Patrick’s Day.

The return of the cold air next week will keep the cherry trees at bay so the odds of peak bloom occurring in March, like it has the last five to six years in a row, are looking slim at best.

QuickCast

MONDAY:
Mostly Sunny
Nice And Warm
Light Breeze
Wind: Southwest 5-10 mph
Chance of Rain: 0%
HIGHS: 68° to 74°

MONDAY NIGHT:
Clear Skies
Remaining Mild
Patchy Areas Of Fog
Wind: Variable 5 mph
Chance Of Rain: 0%
LOWS: 46° to 52°

TUESDAY:
Mostly Sunny
Near Record Warmth
Light Breeze
Wind: Southwest 5-10 mph
Chance of Rain: 0%
HIGHS: 76° to 82°

WEDNESDAY:
Breezy, Warm And Humid
Increasing Clouds
Showers By Evening
Wind: Southwest 10-25mph
Chance of Rain: 40%
HIGHS: 75° to 80°

THURSDAY:
Cloudy, Windy, Much Colder
Rain Likely Before 2pm
Falling Temperatures
Wind: Northwest 20-35 mph
Chance of Rain: 80%
HIGHS: 65° to 45°

Sunrise: 7:29 Sunset: 7:09
Average High: 54° Average Low: 37°

Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.

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Washington, D.C

Storm Team4 Forecast: Warm weather on the way with rain later in week

Published

15 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

4 things to know about the weather:

Feeling more like spring and summer over the next 72 hours.
Monday and Tuesday will feature plenty of sunshine.
Almost humid and definitely warm with strong storms possible on Wednesday.
Rain with falling temperatures and windchill in the low 40s on Thursday.

Happy daylight saving! Today was this year’s first sunset after 7 p.m. — 7:08 p.m. to be exact.

For the rest of the evening, expect clear skies, although there could be an isolated shower, especially south and east of the D.C. area.

Monday will be a beautiful day with temperatures in the upper 60s and lower 70s with plenty of sunshine.

Tuesday will get to around 80°. That could break a record of 79° sit back in 2016. Expect sunshine and dry conditions

By Wednesday, there is a possibility for severe storms in the afternoon and evening, but temperatures will once again approach 80°. Heavy rain and winds are the main thing to watch out for.

A pretty strong cold front will push through the area Thursday morning. That will bring some steady moderate rain to our area on Thursday. Temperatures will only be in the 50s, but the average high temperature for this time of year is also in the 50s, so this is actually closer to normal.

Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.

QuickCast

SUNDAY NIGHT
Mostly clear skies
Temps: 60s and 50s

MONDAY
Sunny
HIGHS: Lower 70s

TUESDAY
Partly Sunny
HIGHS: Near 80°

WEDNESDAY
Afternoon and evening storms
HIGHS: Near 80°

THURSDAY
HIGHS: Near 50°

Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.

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Washington, D.C

Students at ease after judge blocks Trump cuts to Upward Bound

Published

2 days ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Students at ease after judge blocks Trump cuts to Upward Bound

Four years ago, high school senior Aaron O’Brien wouldn’t believe he’d be studying chemistry now. Thanks to the Upward Bound program, that’s not hard to believe anymore.

“Before I came into the program, whew I don’t know who that man was,” O’Brien said.

Through free tutoring, test prep and college visits weekly, Upward Bound has helped millions of students like O’Brien, who attends McKinley Tech High School, pursue higher education.

The program is coordinated by colleges like George Washington University.

“The program has really expanded my vision for the future,” O’Brien said.

He joined Upward Bound as a freshman in high school.

“I never imagined I would be in these spaces and be able to network with so many different people,” he said.

“Upward Bound is basically a family,” said Layla Leiva, a senior at DC International School.

“A lot of us are first generation or low income. My parents do not know what the common app is, or standardized testing, and being able to have students that I can relate to meant the world for me,” she said.

Upward Bound falls under a series of federal TRIO programs funded by the Department of Education. Several programs in the series help veterans, students with disabilities, limited English and those facing foster care and homelessness.

Amid the Trump administration’s overhaul of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (D.E.I.), however, TRIO program funding was slashed because words related to the inclusionary policies were mentioned in its grant applications.

Last fall, a group that advocates for TRIO sued the Department for over $40 million in slashed grants.

Last June, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon testified at a Senate budget hearing, saying that TRIO didn’t give her apartment enough oversight.

“I just think that we aren’t able to see the effectiveness across the board that we would normally look to see with our federal spending,” McMahon said at the hearing.

When funding froze, George Washington University paused most of its programing and cut nearly all its staff.

“It was a staff of just me, I was still working with my seniors,” said George Washington’s Upward Bound director, Darrell Thornton.

After growing up in a similar program, Thornton says he wanted to give back.

“I knew I wanted to be that educator that made a difference,” he said.

Earlier this year, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s cuts, restoring funding for the program.

“It kind of felt like I was cut off from my family for a little bit. When we got back, it was like thank God,” Kevin Williams, a junior at Ron Brown Preparatory College High School said.

The university was also able to bring its staff back.

“I’m so relieved to find out this program finally has funding and that this program will continue to support students in the way that it did for me,” Leiva said.

News4 reached out to the Department of Education, but have not heard back.

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