Metropolitan Police Department Officer Terence Sutton wiped away tears from his face as U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman sentenced him to more than five years in prison. Sutton was convicted in 2022 of second-degree murder in the death of 20-year-old Karon Hylton-Brown. 

Sutton was also convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice, as was his lieutenant, Andrew Zabavsky, for their attempts to cover up the fatal incident. Zabavsky was sentenced to four years following three days of hearings in U.S. District Court.

Both officers apologized for what happened during their respective courtroom statements Thursday afternoon. And both men, now convicted and sentenced, will continue to remain out of custody pending appeal, Friedman ruled.

Members of the media and others in the gallery were instructed to leave the courtroom after the hearing concluded as the officers stayed behind. Sutton’s attorney, Carmen Hernandez, later said the officers were escorted out of the building through a different exit for their safety.

The punishment comes nearly two years after a jury found the officers responsible for Hylton-Brown’s death. Their sentences are far below the amount of time federal prosecutors were seeking: 18 years for Sutton and 10 for Zabavsky. The maximum penalty for second-degree murder is 40 years; obstruction and conspiracy carry 20-year and five-year maximum sentences, respectively.

“I don’t think this man deserves a day in prison,” Hernandez said before Friedman handed down the sentence.

“You’re not going to get that wish, ” Friedman responded.

In the days leading up to the formal sentencing, Friedman said from the bench that he would not be following District sentencing guidelines in regard to the second-degree murder charge because he believed the punishment would be too harsh.

Hylton-Brown was killed in 2020 following an unauthorized police pursuit. Sutton, driving an unmarked MPD cruiser, chased Hylton-Brown as he rode a rented moped through the Brightwood Park neighborhood. With Sutton accelerating behind him, Hylton-Brown rode through an alley and onto Kennedy Street NW, where he was struck by an oncoming vehicle. He was later pronounced dead in a hospital.

Sutton’s initial report said he was chasing Hylton-Brown for riding a moped on the sidewalk and without a helmet, and prosecutors presented evidence at trial that he and Zabavsky attempted to cover up their actions during the pursuit by failing to immediately report the incident to superiors and initially denying they were involved in a pursuit at all.

A jury found Sutton guilty of second-degree murder on Dec. 21, 2022; he and Zabavsky were both convicted of obstruction and conspiracy. Sutton is the first MPD officer to be convicted of murder while on duty.

Sutton and Zabavsky have remained out of custody since their convictions as their attorneys filed appeals. As Friedman denied those motions, each officer began filing letters in support of leniency in sentencing.

Many of those who attended the three days’ worth of hearings this week were former and current MPD officers, several appearing in uniform and speaking on behalf of Sutton. They accused prosecutors of engaging in a politically motivated attack on law enforcement and following a trend of anti-police sentiment.

The Washington Post reported this week that Sutton and Zabavsky’s cases are examples of an increase in prosecutions of D.C. police officers for on-duty misconduct.

“It is my opinion that had this case not occurred on the heels of the George Floyd murder, these officers would not be facing decades of jail time,” former MPD Chief Peter Newsham said in court. Newsham is now the chief in Prince William County and was among the character witnesses speaking on behalf of Sutton this week.

MPD Lt. Jason Ross said in court that Sutton was a model officer who was caught up in the culture of fear currently pervading law enforcement. He asserted that police are afraid to properly do their jobs due to fear of unjust prosecution.

These character witnesses were joined in the courtroom gallery by Sutton’s friends and family, who offered various testaments to his character. Like the other witnesses, they expressed disbelief in the prosecution and the fact that the officers are facing such long sentences for ostensibly doing their jobs.

“The evidence uncovered that what had happened was second-degree murder—there is nothing unique about that,” said prosecutor Elizabeth Aloi.

Aloi objected to the witnesses’ characterization of the defendants as victims in the trial and declared that the only victim in this case is Karon Hylton-Brown.

Hylton-Brown’s mother, Karen Hylton, also attended the sentencing hearings and offered testimony.

“I’m your character witness!” Hylton shouted at Sutton when she testified earlier this week. “My baby is resting because of you.”

At one point during the trial in 2022, Judge Friedman barred Hylton from the courtroom after Sutton’s attorney, Michael Hannon, complained to the judge that her reactions could sway the jury. Hylton was later briefly detained for an outburst after the guilty verdict was read; she was later acquitted of charges related to the incident.

Hylton stayed outside the courtroom for most of the second day of sentencing hearings, stepping in and out periodically. At one point, she entered the room while Sutton’s sister was providing testimony via Zoom, but quickly became agitated and left shortly after.

Amaala Jones-Bey, Hylton-Brown’s girlfriend and the mother of his daughter, also attended the hearings. She was mostly quiet throughout the proceedings, but she did submit an impact statement outlining her views on the incident and the ensuing trial.

In her statement, Jones-Bey expressed that while Sutton and Zabavsky were directly involved in the incident that killed the father of her child, she believes that MPD’s systemic failures to both properly train its officers and follow up on incidents of officer misconduct carry the weight of the blame.

“It is a shame that after all the effort this court has put into reaching the verdicts … the District has already commenced to build a defensive wall protecting its officers from judicial review before Officers Sutton and Zabavsky are even sentenced,” Jones-Bey’s statement says.

Even with sentences for Sutton and Zabavsky handed down, the legal proceedings are far from over. The officers’ defense lawyers made it clear throughout the post-trial and sentence hearings that they are planning to appeal the case to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.