GOP, Trump Seek to Overturn Convictions of Officers in Killings

President Trump leads an unprecedented effort to pardon convicted police officers, signaling a major shift in attitudes toward law enforcement since the George Floyd protests.

Key Takeaways

President Trump and Republican governors are increasingly pardoning and commuting sentences of police officers convicted in fatal incidents
Trump has already pardoned two D.C. police officers involved in a 2020 incident resulting in a motorcyclist’s death
Conservative figures are urging Trump to consider pardoning Derek Chauvin, the officer convicted in George Floyd’s death
Republican leaders view many officer prosecutions as politically motivated, particularly those by progressive district attorneys
Democrats and former Capitol Police officers have criticized Trump’s police support as hypocritical given his pardons of January 6 defendants

The Growing Wave of Police Pardons

A significant shift in the handling of police misconduct cases is emerging across the country. President Trump and Republican governors have begun using their pardon powers to overturn convictions of law enforcement officers in high-profile cases. This reversal comes after years of intense scrutiny on police conduct following the 2020 death of George Floyd and subsequent nationwide protests. The administration’s stance represents a deliberate pivot away from the heightened accountability measures implemented during that period.

Trump has already exercised his presidential pardon power for two Metropolitan Police Department officers, Terence Sutton and Andrew Zabavsky, who were convicted in connection with a 2020 high-speed chase that resulted in the death of a motorcyclist. This pardon has set a precedent that Republican governors appear to be following. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin commuted the sentence of Officer Wesley Shifflett, convicted in a 2023 shooting, while Missouri’s governor pardoned Officer Eric DeValkenaere, who was convicted in a 2021 fatal shooting.

“I am convinced that the court’s sentence of incarceration is unjust and violates the cornerstone of our justice system — that similarly situated individuals receive proportionate sentences,” Mr. Youngkin said.

Calls to Pardon Derek Chauvin

The most controversial potential pardon involves Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted in George Floyd’s death. Conservative media personalities and public figures, including commentator Ben Shapiro and entrepreneur Elon Musk, have publicly urged President Trump to pardon Chauvin. This would represent the most significant reversal of police accountability measures implemented following the 2020 protests and could dramatically reshape the national conversation around law enforcement practices. Despite the ongoing calls for the pardon, Trump stated on Friday that he does not intend to issue a pardon for Derek Chauvin.

Jason Johnson, who heads the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, attributes this shifting landscape to changing public attitudes and a reevaluation of the media narratives that dominated coverage of police misconduct cases. Johnson has been particularly critical of prosecutions initiated by district attorneys backed by progressive donors, suggesting that many cases against officers were politically motivated rather than based on legal merit.

“If you just look at the unfairness of these prosecutions, they were all in their own ways unprecedented,” Mr. Johnson said.

Democrats Allege Hypocrisy

President Trump’s embrace of law enforcement has drawn sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers and former law enforcement officers. In a recent speech to Congress, Trump emphasized the need for stronger police support and proposed a mandatory death penalty for those convicted of murdering police officers. This stance prompted immediate backlash from critics who point to his pardons of individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol riot, during which numerous police officers were injured.

Former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn has been particularly vocal in his criticism, accusing the President of undermining public safety through his contradictory policies. Democratic representatives, including Sylvia Garcia and Judy Chu, have highlighted what they view as an irreconcilable contradiction between Trump’s public statements of support for police and his actions pardoning those who attacked law enforcement officers during the Capitol riot.

“Trump talks a big game about standing with … the blue, yet on the first day of his administration he pardoned hundreds of cop-beaters who tried to steal an election on January 6, 2021,” wrote Rep. Sylvia Garcia.

U.S. Capitol Police have our backs every day. I don’t know how my GOP colleagues can look them in the eye knowing they elected a president who has turned his back on them.

These pardons are a slap in the face to the officers who were injured defending our democracy that day. https://t.co/CA0QinKLNb

— Congressman Bill Foster (@RepBillFoster) January 23, 2025

Shifting Public Attitudes Toward Police

The National Fraternal Order of Police has reported a decrease in police shootings in early 2025 compared to 2024, which supporters of the administration’s approach cite as evidence that the renewed support for law enforcement is having a positive impact. Police organizations have welcomed the re-examination of officer convictions, with Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela A. Smith defending the officers pardoned by Trump as having been unfairly prosecuted for carrying out their duties.

“Never before, in any other jurisdiction in the country, has a police officer been charged with second-degree murder for pursuing a suspect. These members could never have imagined that engaging in a core function of their job would be prosecuted as a crime,” Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela A. Smith wrote in a statement.

The trend toward pardoning convicted officers reveals a complex national reconsideration of how to balance police accountability with the difficult realities of law enforcement work. While supporters view these pardons as corrections of justice, critics fear they may undermine necessary reforms aimed at preventing excessive force and misconduct. This tension highlights the ongoing challenge of creating law enforcement policies that both protect communities and provide officers with the support they need to perform their duties effectively.