Supervisor told NC trooper to lie about chase before fatal wreck, warrant states
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Investigation into NC troopers after fatal crash
Tyrone Mason, 31, died after his car slammed into a concrete barrier on Capital Boulevard near Wake Forest Road in Raleigh the early hours of Oct. 7. A Highway Patrol trooper, after talking with his supervisor, did not immediately disclose that he had pursued Mason before the crash. Mason’s mother says she was told no officer chased her son before he died. What she learned on her own launched a state investigation into the officers’ behavior.
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A recently released search warrant says that a North Carolina state trooper lied about trying to pull over a man before he crashed his car into a concrete barrier on Oct. 7 and died.
The warrant also indicates that Trooper Garrett Macario’s supervisor Sgt. Matthew Morrison advised him to lie.
“Sgt. Morrison told trooper Macario that the traffic accident was RPD’s problem,” states a search warrant obtained by ABC11, The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner.
Macario’s body-camera footage shows that around 2:30 a.m. he attempted to stop Tyrone Mason’s Chevrolet Malibu for a traffic violation, but disengaged based on Mason’s driving behavior, the warrant says. Mason then hit the barrier, and Macario parked his vehicle near the wreck and requested Raleigh police, fire and EMS officials to respond to the scene.
Macario called Morrison and told him about what had just happened. Morrison asked if he had called in the vehicle chase, and Macario said no.
“Sgt. Morrison then told Trooper Macario not to tell responding Raleigh Police Department Officers that he tried to stop Mason before the traffic accident,” states the search warrant, which seeks to get access to Morrison’s iPhone content. North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation special agent M.T. Holcomb sought the warrant on March 18 while investigating the crime of obstruction of justice, the warrant states.
Macario and Morrison were placed on administrative leave on Jan. 10, according to the Highway Patrol. The men are assigned to a district that includes Wake County.
The investigation into the officers became public after Wake County Lorrin Freeman started dismissing dozens of Macario’s pending cases, due to concerns about his credibility. Freeman said she started the investigation on Dec. 23, after she received a call from the State Bureau of Investigation. Someone had contacted the SBI, saying they believed a trooper provided inaccurate information to Raleigh police about the crash, she said.
Freeman said she dismissed about 180 of Macario’s pending cases, most linked to driving while impaired charges, and 12 of Morrison’s cases while investigating their statements about the deadly wreck. Freeman said her office is hoping to conclude the criminal investigation this month.
Virginia Bridges covers criminal justice in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer. Her work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The N&O maintains full editorial control of its journalism. This is a developing story that will be updated as more information is available.
This story was originally published May 6, 2025 at 9:48 AM.
