RALEIGH, N.C. — The Raleigh Police Department on Friday evening publicly released videos related to a fatal October crash that prompted an investigation into State Highway Patrol troopers’ response.
A Wake County judge on May 16 ordered the release of the body camera and dash camera footage from police and the State Highway Patrol after a petition from news outlets. Raleigh police posted videos Friday evening on YouTube. The highway patrol has not yet publicly released its footage.
Tyrone Mason, 31, died in the single-car wreck about 2:30 a.m. Oct. 7 on Capital Boulevard near Wake Forest Road in Raleigh.
Questions about the circumstances of the crash prompted news outlets and Mason's family to seek release of video footage from responding officers.
State Highway Patrol Trooper Garrett Macario called in the crash after he said he drove up on it, but investigators found that Macario initially was not truthful with responding officers. They said Macario had tried to pull Mason over for speeding, but Mason accelerated and fled. Macario initially gave chase but then gave up the pursuit, investigators said.
They said Macario’s supervisor, Sgt. Matthew Morrison, advised Macario not to tell officers that he had tried to pull Mason over, saying the crash “sounds like Raleigh’s problem.”
Aftermath shown in Raleigh police's videos
Video released Friday shows what unfolded after the crash as Raleigh police get to the scene, assess the crash and start rerouting traffic.
A small group of officers surround a crashed black car, and another joins them.
"Check on him. See if he's good,” one officer says. Footage is blurred out of what appears to be the backseat as police investigate.
"Sir, are you OK, sir? Eyes open or anything? Is he breathing? Did you check a pulse? You, we have to get him out too.”
"He's not breathing. No pulse," another officer declares.
"He's got a broken neck, just leave it for them. We don't want to mess him up any more," police are heard saying.
Concern grows as police notice the wrecked car seems to be trying to turn on. An ambulance and more police arrive, and officers begin diverting drivers around the scene where debris is scattered all over the road.
Police can be heard talking about the crashed car, and someone says “probably going at least 100.”
SBI investigation wraps
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman on Wednesday released the results of a State Bureau of Investigation inquiry she requested and said that although Macario and Morrison were dishonest about their response to the crash, their actions did not merit criminal charges.
Freeman said that because of questions surrounding Macario's and Morrison's credibility, she would not prosecute future cases relying on evidence from the two troopers. Earlier this year, she had decided not to pursue about 180 driving while impaired cases involving Macario and Morrison.
Soon after Freeman’s statement Wednesday, Mason’s family filed a lawsuit in federal court against Macario, accusing him of covering up his actions in the crash and failing to check on Mason at the scene.
Mason's time of death was 2:40 a.m., according to the lawsuit.
The family, represented by civil rights lawyers Ben Crump and Bakari Sellers, has demanded transparency and accountability about the events leading to Mason's death.
Mason had a blood-alcohol level of about .11%, the medical examiner found. The legal limit for drivers of passenger vehicles in North Carolina is 0.08%.