James Lanier

James Lanier, 34, who had a history of mental illness, was shot and killed by a Wallace, North Carolina police officer outside the Express Mini Mart on February 24, 2023, after store employees called police because he had entered the store naked and was bothering customers. According to the district attorney's account of surveillance video, Lanier pushed the responding officer, was Tased without apparent effect, and continued advancing on the officer despite repeated commands to back away before the officer fired three shots, one of which struck and killed him. District Attorney Ernie Lee ruled the shooting justified in May 2023, and later cited toxicology results showing PCP in Lanier's system as further justification. Lanier's father publicly said he believed race played a role in his son's death. No one has ever been charged in Lanier's death.

Wallace, NC · Duplin County

• 2023: Case opens — victim reported missing or found.
• Documented milestones (renewed investigation, media coverage, family advocacy) to be added as sourced.
• Present: case remains unresolved. No named suspect has been convicted.

• The store disturbance call, the confrontation in the parking lot, and the shooting, per surveillance video and District Attorney Ernie Lee's public findings following a State Bureau of Investigation review.
• Lanier entered the Express Mini Mart naked and was reported to be bothering and spitting on customers and a store clerk before employees called police.
• Lee's account, based on surveillance footage, stated Lanier pushed the responding officer, was then Tased without apparent effect, and continued to advance on the officer despite repeated commands to back away, at which point the officer fired three shots.
• The officer involved was placed on paid administrative leave following the shooting and was not publicly named in the district attorney's initial announcement.
• District Attorney Ernie Lee announced in May 2023 that the shooting was justified, stating there was “no evidence” the officer acted unlawfully given the threat he perceived.
• Lee separately released toxicology results in January 2024 showing elevated levels of PCP in Lanier's system, characterizing the finding as additional context for the encounter.
• Lanier's father, also named James Lanier, said publicly when asked whether race played a role in his son's death, “Yes, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yes, I do. I don't understand why or how they shot my son.”
• Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and the organization Emancipate NC represented Lanier's family and reviewed body camera footage of the incident with the district attorney's office.

• Whether Lanier's advance on the officer after being Tased reflected an intentional threat or behavior consistent with a mental health crisis and PCP intoxication that he could not control, and whether less-lethal follow-up options existed after the Taser proved ineffective, was never independently tested at any criminal trial since none was brought.
• The specific content of the body camera footage reviewed by Lanier's family's representatives, beyond the district attorney's own narrative summary, has not been made fully public.
• The identity of the officer who fired the fatal shots has not been made public in the sources reviewed for this summary.

• WITN — “DA says man killed by Wallace officer had PCP in his system”
• FOX8 WGHP — “District attorney says ‘no evidence’ officer broke law in shooting, killing man in North Carolina”
• Emancipate North Carolina — “Family of James Lanier Fights for Justice in Wallace”
• Project Cold Case
• Murder Accountability Project
• NamUs