{"id":7247,"date":"2025-08-05T19:06:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T19:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=7247"},"modified":"2025-09-07T19:08:45","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T19:08:45","slug":"despite-murder-conviction-mpd-gave-officer-his-job-back-and-back-pay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=7247","title":{"rendered":"Despite Murder Conviction, MPD Gave Officer His Job Back\u2014and Back Pay"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Stacy M. Brown<\/a><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) allowed two officers convicted in the death of 20-year-old Karon Hylton-Brown to return to the force with back pay, despite overwhelming evidence of misconduct, a 172-page internal investigation recommending their termination, and a federal jury\u2019s unanimous verdict.<\/p>\n

According to a report released by the D.C. Auditor<\/a>, MPD Chief Pamela A. Smith overruled her own Disciplinary Review Division and declined to fire Officer Terence Sutton and Lieutenant Andrew Zabavsky. Sutton was suspended for just 25 days. Zabavsky paid a $2,500 fine and retired. Both were awarded full benefits retroactive to 2021.<\/p>\n

The decision came after President Donald Trump (R) issued full pardons to the officers on January 22, 2025\u2014his second day in office. Sutton and Zabavsky had been convicted in December 2023 of second-degree murder, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy to obstruct following a nine-week federal trial.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors presented video footage and testimony showing the officers engaged in a prohibited pursuit that ended with Hylton-Brown\u2019s death and then falsified reports to cover it up.<\/p>\n

D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson called the discipline \u201cgrossly inadequate\u201d and noted that Chief Smith also rejected all 11 policy reforms proposed by investigators.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis failure to engage constructively on proposals to improve use of force investigations is a marked departure from the Metropolitan Police Department\u2019s approach over the last 25 years,\u201d the report, co-authored by\u00a0 Patterson and former DOJ monitor Michael R. Bromwich, stated.\u00a0 \u201cThe buck stops with her. In this case, the buck was dropped.\u201d<\/p>\n

D.C. Council Questions Smith\u2019s Decisions<\/strong><\/p>\n

The internal investigation confirmed that the officers violated MPD\u2019s pursuit policy, provided false statements, and failed to notify commanding officers following the 2020 crash that killed Hylton-Brown. But when pressed by the D.C. Council, Smith defended the reinstatements, claiming the department disagreed with the jury\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n

Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) questioned how the officers could return to the force despite a federal conviction. \u201c<\/p>\n

The pardons are there,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I guess the pardons do not change the facts of what occurred on October 23, 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith responded, explaining why the officers were allowed to return to the force.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have been reinstated,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen the incident occurred, they were suspended pending the outcome of their criminal case. As you know that after their pardons and convictions were vacated and dismissed, we completed our administrative review.\u201d<\/p>\n

After questioning, the MPD chief also explained why officers weren\u2019t disciplined for obstruction of justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my understanding that there was no coverup and there was no obstruction of justice,\u201d she said, citing body-worn camera footage and internal reports\u2014despite findings to the contrary from MPD\u2019s Internal Affairs Bureau and Disciplinary Review Division.<\/p>\n

During a June 2025 oversight hearing, Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) asked Smith to explain the status of the internal investigation. Smith admitted, \u201cI still have not yet met with the team to obtain what the actual findings are with regards to the internal affairs investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The auditors reported that Smith never reviewed the department\u2019s own 172-page investigative file. Instead, she relied entirely on MPD lawyers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI rely on the lawyers whom I pay to do this job to provide me with the facts of the case,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to run a police department. That\u2019s why the lawyers are here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018This Case Was a Test of Whether MPD Would Hold its Officers Accountable\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n