NEW ORLEANS – The parents of a man who was fatally shot outside of a New Orleans Walmart by off-duty New Orleans police officers alleges the company’s conduct was a “substantial factor and legal cause” of the events that resulted in their son’s death.
Plaintiffs Latashia Cherry and Thomas Cherry, the mother and father of Jhalon Thomas Cherry, filed their lawsuit November 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
In their eight-page complaint for damages, the parents described their son’s death as a “wrongful and unconstitutional killing.”
Jhalon Cherry, according to the filing, was allegedly shot and killed by off-duty New Orleans Police Department officers working security detail at a Walmart store June 20 in New Orleans.
The named defendants in the lawsuit include Walmart Inc., the City of New Orleans, Officer John Doe 1 and Officer John Doe 2, and XYZ Security Company – a fictitious entity representing “any private security contractor” engaged by Walmart to provide off-duty or contracted law enforcement services on June 20.
Jhalon’s parents argue the city, through NOPD, “maintained policies, customs, and practices that fostered excessive and deadly force” by its off-duty officers.
The city also, they contend, failed to ensure that the off-duty officers wore body cameras, adhered to use-of-force protocols, or received training on de-escalation and mental health response.
“The City’s lack of supervision and discipline constituted deliberate indifference to constitutional rights,” the plaintiffs wrote in their complaint.
Walmart also was at fault, they argue, for jointly employing and contracting the officers; failing to vet, supervise, or regulate them; and “enabling a dangerous culture of unaccountable policing on its premises.”
The officers – John Doe 1 and 2 – used unreasonable and deadly force against an unarmed man who posed no immediate threat, the plaintiffs allege.
Jhalon Cherry, a 24-year-old Black male, had no criminal record, no history of violence, and no mental illness, his parents note in their complaint.
Earlier that year, he had relocated from Oregon to Texas, and was visiting New Orleans.
Walmart security personnel alleged Cherry attempted to leave the store on June 20 with three or four cans of tuna, one jar of olives, and two tool sets. Employees claimed he abandoned a shopping cart down the street before officers arrived.
According to his parents’ complaint, the off-duty NOPD officers working for Walmart arrived in unmarked vehicles and jumped out as Cherry walked away from the store. One officer allegedly drew a taser, standing within arm’s reach; another drew a firearm from about seven to 10 yards away.
Cherry did not charge, threaten, or attack either officer. He walked away calmly in the opposite direction, his parents contend.
“Without provocation or necessity, the officer with the firearm shot Mr. Cherry multiple times, causing him to collapse in a pool of blood,” the filing states, adding that the shooting was captured by Walmart security cameras and backup officers’ body cameras. The initial off-duty officers were not wearing body cameras.
No audible commands or warnings can be heard on the available recordings, the plaintiffs point out.
Also, the Walmart emergency exit door through which Cherry allegedly passed was sealed with an inspection tape dated June 2, 2025, indicating the seal was intact and unbroken – contradicting Walmart’s claim he exited there.
Following the shooting, officers failed to provide any medical aid, the plaintiffs contend. Instead, they can be heard on audio recordings making callous remarks as Cherry pleaded for help.
The plaintiffs add that family members were denied access to the unredacted surveillance video and bodycam footage under the pretext that it was “too graphic.”
According to the filing, Cherry’s autopsy revealed severe facial injuries, including a caved-in right eye, cuts to the right cheek, and a deep laceration across the neck – all inconsistent with a simple shooting scenario. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The plaintiffs argue Walmart employees and managers had a duty to exercise reasonable care in communicating information to officers responding to a suspected theft – “knowing that such information would directly influence how officers assessed the situation and whether they used force.”
“Walmart and its agents breached that duty by carelessly, negligently, and/or recklessly providing inaccurate information that portrayed Mr. Cherry as a fleeing suspect using an unauthorized emergency exit – an assertion that heightened perceived danger and prompted an armed police response,” the complaint states.
“Walmart’s conduct was a substantial factor and legal cause of the chain of events that resulted in the unnecessary escalation, pursuit, and fatal shooting of Mr. Cherry by off-duty NOPD officers.”
The company’s failure to preserve surveillance footage and evidence “further demonstrates reckless disregard for the truth,” the plaintiffs contend.
They seek damages for their son’s wrongful death; his “conscious pain and suffering” prior to death; funeral and burial expenses; loss of love, companionship, and society; emotional distress and mental anguish; and attorney’s fees. They also seek punitive damages against the individual officers.
The Bagneris Firm LLC in New Orleans is representing the plaintiffs in the suit.
