Once again, the people of North Carolina are forced to reckon with the reality that law enforcement officers—those entrusted with public safety—are shielded from accountability, even when their actions betray the very principles they claim to uphold. The recent decision by Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman not to charge North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP) troopers Garrett Macario and Matthew Morrison, despite clear evidence of dishonesty in the handling of a fatal crash, is yet another example of the systemic protection afforded to officers who violate the public trust.
The facts are damning. Macario and Morrison lied about their involvement in the events leading up to the crash that killed Tyrone Mason in October 2024. Their deception was so egregious that nearly 200 cases in which Macario was the arresting officer had to be dismissed due to credibility concerns. Yet, despite this blatant misconduct, Freeman has chosen not to pursue charges, citing a lack of prosecutable evidence. This decision sends a clear message: law enforcement officers in North Carolina can lie, obstruct justice, and manipulate the truth without fear of meaningful consequences.
This is not an isolated incident. Across the state, cases are being overturned due to police misconduct, exposing a deeply entrenched culture of deception and abuse. From falsified search warrants to coerced confessions, law enforcement agencies have repeatedly demonstrated that their allegiance is not to justice, but to their own unchecked power. The recent Fourth Circuit ruling in United States v. Garrett is a stark reminder of how law enforcement’s dishonesty can lead to wrongful convictions, stripping individuals—especially Black and marginalized communities—of their freedom.
To understand the trajectory of law enforcement in North Carolina, we must confront its origins. Policing in this state, like much of the South, was never designed to serve and protect all people equally. It was built on a foundation of racial control, first through slave patrols and later through Jim Crow-era enforcement. The legacy of these oppressive systems persists today, manifesting in racial profiling, excessive force, and the disproportionate criminalization of Black communities.
The refusal to hold officers accountable is not a failure of the system—it is the system functioning exactly as intended. When law enforcement is allowed to operate without transparency, when misconduct is downplayed or ignored by media outlets, and when prosecutors refuse to challenge the status quo, the cycle of injustice continues unchecked.
If North Carolina is to move toward true justice, we must demand radical transparency and accountability. Law enforcement agencies must be held to the highest ethical standards, and officers who violate public trust must face real consequences. Prosecutors must stop shielding officers from accountability under the guise of legal technicalities. And media outlets must stop softening the narrative, refusing to call misconduct what it is—state-sanctioned abuse.
We cannot afford to be silent. The people of North Carolina deserve a system that values truth over protectionism, justice over convenience, and equity over oppression. The time for reform is long past—what we need now is transformation.
“People who shut their eyes to reality simply invite their own destruction.” — James Baldwin
Until that system is dismantled, the betrayal will continue.