Family of Chester man fatally shot by police files wrongful death lawsuit
The family of a Chester man who was fatally shot by police has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
Ariane Lamont McCree, 28, died Nov. 23 when he was shot by two Chester Police Department officers outside a Walmart in Chester, police officials said.
Police say McCree had been shoplifting, was placed in custody, then fled and showed a gun.
Lawyers for McCree’s family filed the lawsuit in South Carolina civil court Monday at the Chester County courthouse after a “March for Justice” from downtown Chester to the courthouse.
The lawsuit, filed by lawyers Mullins McLeod and Colin Ram of Charleston, claims that McCree was handcuffed, with his hands behind his back, when he was fatally shot. The lawsuit claims three officers shot McCree.
The lawsuit lists the Chester Police Department, Walmart, the city of Chester, and three officers believed to be involved in the shooting as defendants. However, the officers are not named in the lawsuit.
Chester police previously said two officers fired their weapons the day of the shooting, yet have declined to name the officers.
Chester officials have 30 days to respond in court to the lawsuit.
A police department spokesperson referred all questions Monday to Chester Police Department Chief Eric Williams. Efforts to reach Williams after the lawsuit was filed were unsuccessful.
In a written statement Nov. 26, Chester Police Department Chief Eric Williams said two officers from the department encountered a shoplifting suspect later identified as McCree.
Williams said in the Nov. 26 statement: “While in custody the suspect physically assaulted one of the officers and fled Walmart on foot. During the foot pursuit, the suspect presented a firearm, resulting in two officers with the Chester Police Department discharging their firearms.”
McLeod said the police officers were negligent in firing in a crowded parking lot.
“He (Ariane McCree) posed no risk of harm to anyone at that time,” McLeod said. “People should not suffer the death penalty for an alleged misdemeanor.”
The lawsuit states McCree had gone to Walmart to purchase a new lock for a door. McCree then went through the cashier line where a clerk placed the lock in a bag and he left the store, the lawsuit states.
McCree returned to the store to pay for the lock after realizing the cashier forgot to charge him for it, according to the lawsuit. Police confronted McCree and took him into a loss prevention room at the store, the lawsuit states.
After McCree tried to explain why he came back to the store, he was detained and searched, according to the lawsuit. McCree then ran out of the store because he was “fearing for his life,” the lawsuit states.
“Despite being handcuffed, Ariane ran from the loss prevention room to the safety of the crowded Walmart parking lot where he hoped other shoppers would see what was happening and intervene to save him,” the lawsuit states.
The officers then “drew their weapons and began a firefight in the Walmart parking lot -- indiscriminately shooting their guns at a handcuffed Ariane as he frantically sought refuge behind parked cars,” the lawsuit states.
Ram said law enforcement should not have fired in a busy parking lot.
“This was not Black Friday, but it turned into Bloody Saturday” Ram said after the lawsuit had been filed.
The lawsuit alleges McCree was killed in a wrongful death due to actions of the defendants.
The lawsuit also alleges McCree’s civil rights that protect him from illegal search were violated. McCree was searched and detained without probable cause and was a victim of false arrest, the lawsuit claims.
State Law Enforcement Division spokesman Tommy Crosby said the agency is still investigating the case but has released no other information. SLED has not released any bodycam or dashcam videos. SLED declined to release the video after The Herald filed a S.C. Freedom of Information Act request in December.
About 200 people, including McCree’s parents, marched from downtown Chester to the courthouse Monday before the lawsuit was filed.
The march included chants of “No justice, no peace.” McCree’s family said after the march they have not seen the videos.
“Show us the video,” said Michael McCree, father of Ariane. “Just saying my son was shoplifting is not enough.”
Vickie McCree, Ariane’s mother, wept outside the courthouse after the march. She said the shooting left her family devastated and seeking answers.
“My son was killed,” she said. “My family is hurting...Why did you kill my son?”
The National Action Network, a civil rights organization founded by Rev. Al Sharpton, is involved in the case and organized Monday’s march.
Ariane McCree was a graduate of Chester High School and Jackson State University in Mississippi, his family and lawyers said. He played linebacker on the football team at Jackson State, according to family and school officials.
This story was originally published February 3, 2020 at 10:57 AM.
