Civil rights attorneys and family held a press conference Friday regarding the October death of 31-year-old Tyrone Mason, pushing for answers.

What You Need To Know

  • Tyrone Mason's family and lawyers held a press conference Friday

  • The family wants transparency about how Mason's death was handled by two state troopers

  • The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating troopers Garrett Macario and Matthew Morrison

  • Prosecutors dropped 180 cases involving Macario and Morrison over "credibility issues," according to the SBI

Mason died in a single-car wreck on Capital Boulevard in Raleigh on Oct. 7, and the credibility of two troopers who investigated the crash is being called into question, according to officials.

The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating troopers Garrett Macario and Matthew Morrison. Prosecutors dropped 180 cases involving Macario and Morrison over "credibility issues," according to the SBI. 

"According to reports, it was questions surrounding Mason's death that caused the SBI to investigate trooper Garrett Macario and his supervisor, Sgt. Matthew Morrison," the SBI said in a release. Investigators reviewed dashboard and body-worn camera recorded around the time of Mason's death.

Mason's family wants accountability and transparency about what happened.

"Everyone come together and get justice for my son, Tyrone Mason," said Henrietta Mason, Tyrone Mason's mother.

The family's lawyers are asking for dash camera and bodycam video to be released.

"We still ain't got to the ultimate truth yet, because when we get to the ultimate truth, we all go sit together on that video," attorney Ben Crump said.

Officials said that a review of Macario's dash camera and bodycam indicates that he provided false or misleading information to responding officers with the Raleigh Police Department on the night Mason died.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said she made the decision not to move forward with cases involving Macario and Morrison after issues regarding their credibility surfaced.

"These were driving while impaired cases. And as has been filed as part of the public record, you know, based on information that we had and pending the outcome of an investigation, we had concerns about the credibility, and the ability to call those people to testify in those matters," Freeman said. 

"There is no way to move forward in those cases at this time," Freeman said, noting that Macario and Morrison may have been the only two witnesses in the case. 

"Any time we have questions about an officer's credibility, you know, certainly it's alarming. It's concerning. But, you know, we're committed to doing things the right way. You know, we are going to seek justice," Freeman said.

"So for her to dismiss 181 cases means something egregious happened in this case," said Dawn Blagrove, attorney and executive director of Emancipate North Carolina. "And none of us should stop until we know exactly what that is and exactly how deep and how far that corruption, the lack of credibility and that malfeasance goes."

Mason's lawyers say there's more to the case than what is being said publicly.

"For other cases where video exists, actually involving cases where aid was not rendered in certain cases here in North Carolina. We know about those cases. You all know about those cases. And so the question has to be asked from the top to the bottom about what their policies and procedures are about chases, etc., and what they're supposed to do on the scenes," attorney Bakari Sellers said.

The family said they plan to file a lawsuit soon.

Freeman said the troopers, who are currently on leave, are still under investigation.