LOCAL

Spartanburg County Detention Center death: Man's family demands transparency, answers

Chalmers Rogland
Herald-Journal

The family of an inmate who died Monday at Spartanburg County Detention Center (SCDC) questioned the nature of the man's death and want footage released related to the incident.

Lavell Najah Lane, 29, was pronounced dead on Monday at 5:04 a.m. by the Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger's Office, who said an investigation is pending with SLED.

Clevenger said Monday evening that an autopsy was performed earlier in the day and the current results were pending microscopic analysis and toxicology reading. He said Thursday morning the results would be complete in about 6-8 weeks.

The Spartanburg Herald-Journal has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with SLED and the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office for all information and footage relevant to Lane's arrest and subsequent death. The Sheriff's Office rejected the Herald-Journal's FOIA request, citing an active investigation, and declined a request for comment about the nature of Lane's death and what transpired after his arrest late on Sunday Oct. 2.

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"Transparency" and "accountability" were repeated by Lane's family during a press conference in front of the detention center Wednesday afternoon. The family's attorney, Rasheda Robinson of Thomason & Pracht LLP, and members of the National Racial Justice Network (RJN), a civil rights organization that is assisting the family in pursuit of answers in Lane's death, were also present Wednesday.

Those who spoke challenged the Sheriff's Office and SLED to immediately release the body cam and security footage if they have nothing to hide regarding Lane's death. The family also promised to host a protest in front of the SCDC in one week if footage was not released.

"We want to see the video, and we want to see it right away," Elder James Johnson, CEO of RJN, said. "We are not jumping to conclusions about anything, but we want transparency, and we want it now. Too many mothers are crying, fathers are crying other their loved ones dying in South Carolina."

"Death requires responsibility," added Dr. Candace Brewer, National President of RJN.

Days Prior:Family of man killed by Greenville Co. Sheriff's Office demands footage, answers

Lane's mother, Beverly Lane-Reese; father, Andy Reese; and his sisters, Roxann and Andrea Thomas, were among those present outside the SCDC Wednesday afternoon. They questioned why Lane was dead within hours of being booked, and said no one from the Sheriff's Office has reached out to them since his death.

According to the family, Lane had been in South Carolina for fifteen days after relocating from Brooklyn, New York. He had been staying at the Midway Residential Care Facility in Moore.

Beverly Lane-Reese said she and the family moved from Brooklyn twelve years ago. She added that she last talked to Lane Sunday, the day of his arrest.

The National Racial Justice Network (RJN) along with the family of Lavell N. Lane, 29, held a press conference regarding his death. Lane was incarcerated at the Spartanburg County Detention Center where he was later pronounced dead after being incarcerated for 5 hours. A press conference was held on Oct. 5, 2022. Beverly Lane, Lane's mother, center, holds a picture of her son for the public to see. Many friends and family members held pictures of Lavell N. Lane,

Lavell Lane arrested on Chesnee Highway

Lane's SCDC's booking information said he was booked at 11 p.m. Sunday for violating South Carolina statute 56-05-3160 - Pedestrian in the Street.

The Sheriff's Office incident report for Lane's arrest states that when a Sheriff's Deputy tried to detain him at around 10:20 pm Sunday for walking in the middle of Chesnee Highway, diagonally to Cleveland Chapel Rd., Lane uttered a profanity and fled on foot into a section of woods before surrendering with his hands up.

Lane complied with the arrest and told the deputy he ran because "he was scared."

The report notes that Lane later became "uncompliant and combative" with deputies at the SCDC.

Andy Reese said an official from the Coroner's Office visited his home Monday morning and told him his son was dead. Reese said the Coroner's representative, who had seen the footage, told him that Lane was tased while he was naked "in the front and back."

Reese said he was denied requests to see the footage, the body, and to consult the officer who was on duty that night.

The National Racial Justice Network (RJN) along with the family of Lavell N. Lane, 29, held a press conference regarding his death. Lane was incarcerated at the Spartanburg County Detention Center where he was later pronounced dead after being incarcerated for 5 hours. A press conference was held on Oct. 5, 2022. Beverly Lane wipes a tear from her eye as she hold a picture of her son.

"I never expected something like this to happen to me in my whole entire life. I have seen things on TV, but when it hits my door - it's hard," Reese said. "I am terrified [of] this, very upset. People are being treated unjustly because of mental illness. For a traffic violation, my son is dead."

Roxann Thomas, Lane's older sister, said that Lane had schizophrenia. Lane's mother and father said he battled mental health issues. The family added that Lane ran track at Howard University in Washington D.C., and that he was in excellent physical health.

"I'm not going to have another Christmas with him," Beverly Lane-Reese said. "And I want justice for Lavell - there's too much of this going on, not just in South Carolina, it's all over - they need to put funding in for people with mental illness, where they can be treated accordingly. They're human, they're human beings, and they need to be treated as such."