A family of Botham Jean sues a former Dallas officer who killed a black man in his own apartment

DALLAS – The family of a 26-year-old black man who was shot in his own apartment by a former white police officer in Dallas on Friday filed a federal lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleged that Amber Guyger had used excessive force when she shot dead on September 6 in her own apartment Botham Jean, 26, from St. Lucia, in her own apartment. clean and thought that she had met an intruder.

Guyger and the city of Dallas are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

She was charged with manslaughter a few days after the shooting and has since been removed from the Dallas Police Department. The lawsuit also argues that the ministry has not trained Guyger properly, and adds that the agency is training its officers to use lethal force "even when there is no immediate threat to them. or for others. "

According to an affidavit prepared by a Texas Ranger, Guyger went to the wrong apartment after completing his shift on September 6th. According to the document, the door was ajar and Guyger opened it to find a character in the dark apartment. Moments later, she unsheathed her gun and fired twice, hitting Jean once on the chest, according to the affidavit.

Lee Merritt, one of Jean's family lawyers, questioned the story. Merritt testified that two independent witnesses told him that he had heard a knock on the hallway before the shooting.

He stated that a witness had heard a woman's voice say, "Let me in! Let me in!"