Police officers convicted of killing black man pardoned by Trump

As reported by the White House, US President Donald Trump granted pardons on Wednesday to two police officers in Washington who had been convicted of killing Karon Hylton-Brown, a 20-year-old black man in 2020, according to Reuters.

Last year, the Justice Department revealed that Terence Sutton Jr. received a sentence of 66 months in prison, while Andrew Zabavsky was given 48 months for "an unauthorized police chase that resulted in a crash on Oct. 23, 2020, which led to the death of Karon Hylton-Brown, 20, in Northwest Washington D.C."

The officers stayed at liberty while awaiting the results of their appeals.

As stated by the Metropolitan Police Department, Sutton, in his early 40s, and Zabavsky, in his mid-50s, faced "indefinite suspension without pay, awaiting their administrative process."

The event occurred months following the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed after a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into his neck for multiple minutes. That killing sparked protests against police violence and racial injustice both in the US and globally.

Upon assuming office on Monday, Trump granted pardons to roughly 1,500 of his supporters involved in the assault on the US Capitol four years prior on Jan. 6, 2021. Included among those granted pardons were individuals who attacked police officers.

Read more: Trump pardons 1,500 Capitol rioters