By: Jordan Meadows | Staff Writer
In Part 1 of the series, we explored the historical context behind the culture of cover-ups within North Carolina and the Triangle’s law enforcement agencies with Dr. Kimberly D. Muktarian, a Raleigh native, journalist, historian, and civil rights activist. In Part 2, we discuss more examples of this tragic culture in law enforcement, share Dr. Kim’s personal experiences with members of the force, and examine how politics can either reinforce or challenge this culture, depending on the complicity of the individuals involved.
Two North Carolina State Highway Patrol officers are on administrative leave and dozens of cases have been dismissed after the Wake County district attorney said they gave false information to Raleigh police during an investigation.
“We're here talking about a district attorney, attorney Lorrin Freeman, who dropped over 180 cases, yet she has not prosecuted anybody. Obviously, either she feels as if the person's 180 victims or cases, at some point, they're okay with being wrongly prosecuted or targeted. It says that African Americans are disposable. They don't have the humane abilities to warrant fair treatment under the law, equal protection under the law.”
Dr. Kim references cases like Tyrese Mason, who died under mysterious circumstances. His family is seeking police footage of the suspected car crash, where he did not survive, involving unreliable state patrol troopers.
“So, we're still talking about the comparison of whose life is worthy. And that means this is not even just a culture about policing. This is also a culture of white supremacy found in our district attorney's office. Because we'll just drop the cases and pretend like the people were not human, it’s difficult to obtain footage, to obtain any kind of transparency, even though that may be a slogan on a lot of the police departments' websites—they use all the good language. But what we see in practice is the opposite.”
Dr. Kim talks about a woman named Rebecca Tisdale, who was approached for prostitution by an undercover officer in Raleigh. Dr. Kim believes Tisdale experienced sexual coercion, and after some time, she finally felt safe and secure enough to share her story.
Tisdale couldn't shake the multiple non-violent felonies and misdemeanors on her record that now stood as a barrier on applications for better jobs, better housing, and a barrier to hope and advocated for the "Second Chance Act” in 2020—which passed in a bipartisan fashion.
“When the RPD found that I would be accompanying her to file her official grievance, they would not let her come with me. So, we have been done this way,” Dr. Kim said.
Kyron Hinton's case, which occurred on Raleigh Boulevard in 2019, was investigated as a homicide. However, District Attorney Lorrin Freeman confirmed no charges would be filed in Hinton's case. At the time, Hinton's family believed his death was linked to the $83,000 settlement he received from the Wake County Sheriff's Office following a 2018 beating involving law enforcement officers.
“The young man was attacked by all three law enforcement agencies,” Dr. Kim said. “A call came in that he had a gun. They arrived right here on Raleigh Boulevard. He only had a cell phone, and he was attacked by the deputy's dog.”
Dr. Kim continued, “When he noticed it was a phone, they just let his dog on him. They placed him at Wake Med for four days without allowing him to use the phones. So, he was missing from his family for four days. They charged him with attacking the dog.”
A community liaison named Michael Ballen, a Black male, called Dr. Kim to arrange a meeting on the morning the footage was set to be released, but he never showed up. Dr. Kim later learned that the Chief of Police in Raleigh, a Black female, had called an emergency meeting at the same time with clergy to inform them about the upcoming release of the footage by the courts.
“They blocked us from coming to that meeting because we were the only ones who knew about what had happened: we saw the video before it was released,” Dr. Kim said. “Two Black officers, the chief of police, and a community liaison, who had us—three Black women—sit for four hours.”
I asked Dr. Kim about the current political landscape and how it might contribute to a culture of cover-ups. She explained that a big part of the issue lies in politicians being complicit and prioritizing their personal ambitions over their responsibility to the community.
“Nelson Mandela. He served 30 years in a South African jail for attempting to liberate his people, and when he exited those walls, he immediately was elected as the president of South Africa. But his stay was not long. He wanted to make sure he established a foundation that he could pass the baton, so he only served one turn. And he fought just as well as he did in his earlier days from a political standpoint,” Dr. Kim said.
She argues that longevity is possible as long as they remain silent or complicit in the culture of cover-ups, citing representatives from District C in Southeast Raleigh as an example.
“No one said anything about Darryl Williams from District C. No one, Senators, House of Representatives, City Council members—they're all black, they're all in this district. No one said anything about it, nobody said anything about how to change policy.” Dr. Kim said. “Ambition and climbing the ladder requires that you remain complicit and be quiet. Our silence, our own silences, are violence; and that's what we're seeing amongst many of our politicians.”
Dr. Kim argues that when an incident involving law enforcement occurs in the Black community, the District's response is always the same: they claim it's under investigation, shift the blame, and tell the community to seek answers elsewhere, but never provide an explanation, apology, or offer support to the community.
“But when George Floyd died, the mayor and city council were all crying, they were with his family,” Dr. Kim said. “So, you do this for an outsider who made national news, but you won't say a word —no tears—for your own community members? If that is what it takes to be a politician to serve your people, then I don't know what your definition of serving your people is.”
