A North Carolina appeals court judge accused of nearly striking Black Lives Matter protesters in downtown Fayetteville with an SUV has had his case dismissed because prosecutors said they could not find evidence of a crime.
A document issued Friday by Cumberland County District Court said prosecutors found “no credible evidence that a crime was committed" by Court of Appeals Judge John Tyson, who was scheduled to appear in court this month on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.
Myah Warren gave a magistrate a handwritten and signed statement indicating that, during a Fayetteville Activist Movement demonstration against fatal police shootings on May 7, she and another protester had to jump out of the way of Tyson’s SUV, according to the document.
After a review of video of the event from six different city cameras, Warren and her mother acknowledged she was standing on a sidewalk and leaning against a fence before, during and after Tyson's SUV passed them. His SUV never moved toward Warren or any other protester, the document said.
“(The Conference of District Attorneys) office conducted a thorough and objective review of all the evidence and interviewed witnesses and officers involved. Their conclusion finds no evidence or basis to prosecute the case and dismissed the summons. This final action resolves any assertions in favor of Judge Tyson,” said David T. Courie, Tyson's attorney, in a statement.
Attempts to reach Warren by phone on Monday produced a busy signal.
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