Metropolitan Police Department officer Terence Sutton has been indicted on local and federal charges related to the October 2020 police pursuit and crash that led to the death of 20-year-old Karon Hylton-Brown, prosecutors announced Friday.

Sutton, a 37-year-old officer with the crime suppression unit team, was indicted on a D.C. charge of second-degree murder and federal charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice, according a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Additionally, MPD lieutenant Andrew Zabavsky, 53, was indicted on federal charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. A grand jury returned the indictment Thursday and it was unsealed Friday.

The two D.C. Police officers made an appearance in the U.S. District Court for D.C. in a virtual hearing Friday afternoon. Sutton and Zabavsky were released under conditions set by Judge Zia Faruqui, and their next hearing is set for Oct. 4.

Sutton, a 12-year veteran of the force, has been on administrative since the crash in Brightwood Park.

In a press conference Friday evening, MPD Chief Robert Contee said that the officers have been served a notice of intent to suspend them indefinitely without pay. The officers have an option to start an appeals process, and will remain on administrative leave in the meantime. While Sutton was put on administrative leave immediately following the incident, Contee said the department waited to take Zabavsky off duty until the details of the indictment came down.

According to D.C. police, officers observed Hylton-Brown riding a rented Revel moped without a helmet and attempted to make a traffic stop. Police-worn bodycam footage from the Oct. 23, 2020, incident shows a police cruiser moving at increased speeds, pursuing Hylton-Brown on the moped through alleyways until he exits in the 700 block of Kennedy Street NW and collides with a passenger vehicle.

USAO documents say Hylton-Brown suffered severe head trauma and succumbed to his injuries on Oct. 25. The indictment alleges that Sutton caused Hylton-Brown’s death by “driving a police vehicle in conscious disregard for an extreme risk of death or serious bodily injury to Hylton-Brown.”

The charging documents allege that Sutton, traveling in an unmarked cruiser with three other officers, at times drove double the speed limit, reaching 45 mph at one point in the chase, which lasted more than three minutes. Sutton was allegedly “driving the wrong way on a one-way street and passing through multiple ‘STOP’ signs,” the documents read.  Zabavsky, named in the charging documents as Sutton’s supervising lieutenant, allegedly pursued Hylton-Brown alone in his marked police car.

Sutton and Zabavsky are also charged with conspiracy and obstruction of justice. According to the charging papers, the officers did not take “routine steps” to collect evidence in a traffic crash incident, “including preserving the scene, collecting witness information, or interviewing witnesses.”

The two also allegedly turned off their body-worn cameras before leaving the scene and had a private conversation. Sutton also allegedly drove over evidence from Hylton-Brown’s moped as he left the scene. The officers are also alleged to have provided a “misleading” account of the Hylton-Brown incident to their watch commander.

“Sutton denied engaging in a vehicular pursuit of Hylton-Brown, Zabavsky withheld all information about his involvement in the incident, and both officers omitted any mention of Hylton-Brown’s serious injuries,” the charging document continues. “Because of their misleading account, no investigation by other MPD components … was initiated at that time.”

The indictment comes a month after Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George called for a speedier investigation into Hylton-Brown’s death, calling the USAO’s months-long delay “unnecessary and inexcusable.”

“Justice delayed is justice denied,” George said at the time. “And our community is done waiting. Accountability is essential. It is not optional. And we’re going to do everything we can to get justice for Karon Hylton-Brown so that our community can heal.”

Reached by phone Friday, George told DCist/WAMU she learned of the indictment while in the car and immediately drove to Kennedy Street to talk to Hylton-Brown’s friends. George said that members of the community had previously warned other officers about Sutton’s alleged harassment of Hylton-Brown, his brother, and their friends.

“They were like, ‘We’re in shock. We can’t believe that they actually did something about Officer Sutton … We’re shocked that somebody actually listened to us and took Karon’s life seriously,” George said, referring to Hylton-Brown’s friends. “Karon’s death and this year-long investigation has been a dark cloud over our community.”

George said this is the first step toward accountability over what happened that night, and that police accountability is key to ending gun violence in D.C. She added that the young victims of the recent mass shooting on Kennedy Street were friends of Hylton-Brown.

“When you read the indictment, there are so many troubling things that happened with the pursuit and the obstruction and cover-up afterwards,” George said. “It hurts the whole community when you have officers like this on the police force, with this depraved heart for the people they serve.”

Hylton-Brown’s family and friends have said that the 20-year-old was working towards his GED at the time of his death, and had dreams of becoming a firefighter. He had recently become a father to a 3-month-old girl, and was determined to support his family with his girlfriend.

“He was a really, really humble young man. I never heard Karon curse in front of me,” a family friend told DCist/WAMU last fall. “No bad energy from Karon, ever.”

Following Hylton-Brown’s death, his family and friends joined other protesters in at least five nights of demonstrations outside MPD’s Fourth District station, demanding answers for his death and speaking out against what they said is a pattern of police targeting young Black men in their neighborhood. Some of those at the protests said they were witnesses to the police chase before Hylton-Brown’s death and claimed he tried to stop MPD officers from chasing him.

“I saw Karon stop at the intersection of Fifth Street and also ask them, ‘Why are y’all still chasing me?’” one friend, who identified himself as Arhki, told DCist/WAMU at the time. “They chased him. They chased him to death.”

MPD policy forbids officers from making chases in patrol cars, unless they are pursuing a suspect in a felony or someone who poses threat of serious physical harm, or unless they have no other options. George and other D.C. lawmakers introduced a bill earlier this year to make this policy into law, citing Hylton-Brown’s death, as well as that of Jeffrey Price, who was killed on his motorcycle in 2018 when a D.C. police car blocked an intersection, leading to a fatal crash.

During Friday’s press briefing, MPD Chief Contee said the department would fully cooperate with the USAO. He also addressed MPD officers:

“To the men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department who also may be watching, I know this indictment today may seem like an indictment of all the members of the department or wear the badge,” Contee said. “I assure you that there are many in the community who recognize the work you do, who support the work you do, who understand that you make split-second decisions, and you do it professionally, constitutionally, procedurally correct day in and day out.”

DCist/WAMU asked D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser about the charges Friday and whether she was concerned about the impact the charges could have on crime in D.C., to which she replied, “I do.”

“Our officers … work to uphold the law and justice, and they know how the justice system works, and that this process is playing itself out,” Bowser said. “I fully expect that officers will be concerned about their own safety and their ability to do their job. But they know that the chief and I expect them to do exactly that — to act like professionals, to do their job, to keep neighborhoods across the District of Columbia safe.”

Bowser added that she’s not surprised to see an indictment, but said she’d reserve a full comment until she has a chance to see the charging documents. “It appeared to be that one of our policies was violated,” she said.

This story has been updated with additional information about the Oct. 23, 2020, incident, the protests outside the Fourth District police station last fall, and legislation to outlaw certain police chases. It has also been updated with comments from Councilmember Janeese Lewis George.

Sutton, Terence and Zabavsk… by wamu885

Previously: 
Councilmember Janeese Lewis George Calls For Speedier Investigation Into Karon Hylton-Brown’s Death
Karon Hylton-Brown’s Loved Ones Remember His Exuberant Spirit And Dreams For Fatherhood
D.C. Police Release Body Camera Footage Following Karon Hylton-Brown Death
Karon Hylton-Brown Vigil Turns Into Second Night Of Protests Outside Fourth District Police Station