Trump Pardons 2 D.C. Police Officers

[HighStepper]

I can go along with this pardon.

President Donald Trump pardoned two Washington, D.C. police officers convicted in the death of Karon Hylton-Brown, who was riding a moped on a sidewalk without a helmet. Hylton-Brown was a known member of a violent street gang and under suspicion of committing a crime. When he ignored instructions to stop a pursuit ensued. Departmental policy prohibits pursuing a vehicle for the sole purpose of affecting a stop for a traffic violation.

During the chase Hylton-Brown was struck by another car as he emerged from the alley. No contact was made between the officers' vehicle and Hylton-Brown. As he lay unconscious, Sutton and fellow officer Andrew Zabavsky agreed to cover up Sutton's actions. The pair allowed the driver of the other car to leave within 20 minutes, turned off their body cameras, conferred, and then left.

Sutton was convicted by a federal jury in December of 2022 of second-degree murder, conspiracy to obstruct, and obstruction of justice. A judge sentenced him to 5 and a half years in prison. The same jury found Zabavsky guilty of conspiracy to obstruct and obstructing justice. He received a four-year prison sentence.

I don't see malice aforethought for murder, more at recklessness endangerment as in manslaughter.
The D.C. Police Union, which had expressed "dismay" over the Jan. 6 pardons, praised Mr. Trump's decision on clemency for the two officers as righting "an incredible wrong."

[bats]

I don't see malice aforethought for murder, more at recklessness endangerment as in manslaughter.

I don't know enough about this case to form an opinion except to say that if Trump let them off, it wasn't because of any reasonable justification but instead because he got something out of it, such as the noted praise from the police union.

Incidentally, under federal case law "malice aforethought":

does not require a subjective intent to kill, but may be established by evidence of conduct which is a "reckless and wanton and a gross deviation from a reasonable standard of care, of such a nature that a jury is warranted in inferring that defendant was aware of a serious risk of death or serious bodily harm.

[HighStepper]

Thanks for the link

As a private citizen one is under no legal obligation to do anything if they see someone laying unconscious. We would hope that they have a sense of moral obligation out of human compassion. I would think the hiring oath taken by these law enforcement officers would compel them to take action, notwithstanding that they contributed to the situation.

Certainly these officers should have been prosecuted for leaving the scene, and the obstruction of justice through the attempt to cover it up. As has been said, honest mistakes can be forgiven. There is no such thing as an honest cover-up.

Yes we know why Trump did the pardon. Sometimes people do the right thing for the wrong reasons.