Update: This story was updated with comments from the governor and attorney general’s offices.
Henrietta Mason told reporters on Friday that after her son, 31-year-old Tyrone Mason, died in a crash on Capital Boulevard in October, the police officers who knocked on her door told her it was a single-car accident with no witnesses. Tyrone, a father of four, was “terrified of sirens” and police officers, his mother said, and that’s how she knew his death wasn’t the accident it was made out to be.
“I know someone was chasing my son,” Mason said at a press conference outside of the Archdale Building, which houses the State Highway Patrol, in downtown Raleigh. “And when they told me that it was a state trooper that drove up and found my son, I said, ‘He did it.’ Day One.”
Raleigh police told news outlets that Mason was traveling north on Capital Boulevard in the early morning of October 7 when his 2018 Chevrolet Malibu crashed into a concrete barrier. Police said Mason was speeding, lost control of the car near the Wake Forest Road overpass, and crossed the median into the southbound lanes. His car collided with the barrier by the bridge supports.
Since the crash, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman announced she was dropping more than 180 pending cases involving Garrett Macario, the state trooper who responded to the crash that killed Mason, and his supervisor, Sgt. Matthew Morrison. Freeman is reviewing a dozen more cases involving the pair.
SBI investigators contacted Freeman in December about an investigation they were conducting into the crash, according to reports, and Freeman dropped the cases after reviewing the dashboard and body-worn camera footage from Mason’s crash, leading to speculation that the crash happened as a result of a chase.
Now, the Mason family’s attorney, Sean Cecil, and the nationally known civil rights lawyers Ben Crump and Bakari Sellers, are urging state officials, including Gov. Josh Stein and Attorney General Jeff Jackson, to publicly release the video footage.
“[Stein and Jackson] can simply say today that we are going to release those videos,” said Sellers at Friday’s press conference. “They can make sure that these officers are held to account. They can make sure that these officers are arrested. They can make sure that these officers are fired. They can actually do examinations throughout the department of their policies and procedures.”
Under state law, the law enforcement agency that is the custodian of the video footage would need to petition the court for its release.
A spokesperson from Stein’s office said Friday afternoon that it does not have custody of the footage, nor the authority to release it. A justice department spokesperson said the attorney general’s office does not have the authority to release the footage and is not currently involved in the investigation.
Mason confirmed to reporters that she has viewed the camera footage but that it took three weeks for her to get access to the video.
Cecil, Mason’s attorney, said she “knocked on a lot of doors … went to all the agencies … sent hundreds of emails” in an effort to find out what happened to Tyrone. Cecil said a month passed before Mason called him “and we started digging” and “answers start[ed] happening.”
“A video does exist. A compelling video exists,” Cecil said.
Sellers said Mason’s case points to a broader cultural issue with the state’s highway patrol.
“I’m aware of other cases, just in research preparing for this, where video exists, actually involving chases, where aid was not rendered,” Sellers said. “In certain cases here in North Carolina, we know about those cases. … So the question has to be asked, from the top to the bottom, about what their policies and procedures are about chases, and what they’re supposed to do on the scenes.”
Sellers said the Mason family’s legal team plans to file a lawsuit in the coming days.
Support independent local journalism. Join the INDY Press Club to help us keep fearless watchdog reporting and essential arts and culture coverage viable in the Triangle. Follow Raleigh Editor Jane Porter on X or send an email to jporter@indyweek.com.