Chester Mayor: ‘Officers Involved In Deadly Shooting Should Be Fired’

CHESTER — The Mayor of Chester believes the officers involved in a deadly shooting of a man at a Walmart store last year should be fired from the force.

Mayor Wanda Stringfellow tells WCCB Charlotte the officers did not follow policy when they failed to properly activate their body-worn camera during a confrontation with 28-year-old Ariane McCree.  Last November, McCree was arrested at a Walmart after police say he stole a lock from the store.  McCree was handcuffed, officers say when he assaulted an officer and then left the store.  Another officer approached McCree in the parking lot, fired shots, and McCree fell to the ground.  He died on the scene.  Chester Police Chief Eric Williams says his officers were justified in the shooting because McCree was armed.

“The question was, and has been was this gentleman unarmed? And the answer is absolutely not,” says Williams.

McCree’s family says the officers’ actions were not justified.  They believe McCree was not a threat because he was handcuffed, with his hands behind him.  They said there was no reason for officers to use deadly force.

“The Chief needs to be fired, these officers need to be terminated and they need to be charged with murder because that is what they did,” says Tabatha McCree-Strother, McCree’s cousin.

Mayor Stringfellow plans to recommend to the council Monday that the officers be terminated.

Federal prosecutors have been asked to review the case.