Justice For Tyrone Mason: Rally Targets Trooper’s Lies After Deadly Crash
A rally will be held tomorrow for Tyrone Mason, a 31-year-old Black man who died in a single-car crash in October after being chased by Raleigh police.
The event was organized after police released body and dash cam video that showed a state trooper lying about his actions leading up to Mason’s deadly crash.
According to reports, State Trooper Garrett Macario attempted to pull Mason over after he was allegedly speeding. After the crash, instead of rendering aid, Macario called his supervisor, Sgt. Matthew Morrison, who urged him to lie to Raleigh police officers, saying he only came upon the crash, leaving out details about the chase moments before.
According to Indy Week, the recordings we released after a successful court petition brought by a coalition of media outlets, including the INDY and The Assembly.
The revelation of a police cover-up led Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman to dismiss more than 200 cases involving Macario and Morrison. Still, she did not file criminal charges against either of the officers.
Henrietta Mason, Tyrone Mason’s mother, has filed a federal lawsuit against Macario, accusing the state trooper of initiating a dangerous chase and then failing to help the driver after he slammed into a concrete barrier, according to The News & Observer.
On Thursday (May 29), the family will be joined by nationally renowned civil rights attorneys Bakari Sellers and Ben Crump, Raleigh attorney Sean Cecil, national political activist and organizer Rev. Gregory Drumwright, Emancipate NC Executive Director Dawn Blagrove, local elected officials, and community leaders at 10 AM in front of the Wake County Judicial Center.
According to family attorneys, the rally was organized to call out Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman for failing to charge NC State Trooper Garrett Macario and call on state leaders to take action.
“Video released earlier this month shows not only that Mason died following an ill-advised pursuit initiated by Macario, but also that Macario failed to render any kind of aid to save Mr. Mason’s life and then lied to Raleigh police to try and cover it up,” the press release read.
The rally will be followed by a press conference that will feature remarks from Mason’s family along with the family’s attorneys, Crump, Sellers and Cecil, Drumwright and Blagrove.
SEE ALSO:
Mississippi County Reaches $2.5M Settlement With Black Men Invaded And Tortured By Cops