Accidental breaking and entering and manslaughter

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caojyn

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Botham Jean's family to sue city of Dallas and Amber Guyger, attorney says
1 hr ago
1537978177-JEANFAMILY_0914met.jpg

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The family of 26-year-old Botham Jean plans to sue the city of Dallas and the former Dallas police officer who shot him in his own apartment earlier this month.

Attorney Lee Merritt said Allison and Bertrum Jean plan to file a federal lawsuit claiming excessive use of force by Amber Guyger.

The city will be named as a defendant because Guyger was operating "under the color of state authority" even though she was off the clock, Merritt said.

"She is in uniform, she was wearing a badge, she purports to give commands which he allegedly failed to comply to," he said. "Clocking in or clocking out has no bearing on that analysis."

Merritt said he didn't know when the lawsuit would be filed.

Legal experts have said Dallas could be held liable for Jean's death if attorneys can convince a court that Guyger was acting in the scope of her employment when she killed Jean.

1537978212-BothamJean9.jpg

Allison and Bertrum Jean pose for a portrait as they hold a photo of their son Botham Shem Jean at their home in Castries, St. Lucia on Tuesday, September 25, 2018. Botham Jean was shot and killed in his apartment by off duty Dallas police officer Amber Guyger. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News)

(Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer)

The Dallas Police Department fired Guyger on Monday, more than two weeks after the Sept. 6 shooting at the South Side Flats apartment complex in the Cedars. She was charged with manslaughter three days after the shooting and turned herself in to the Kaufman County Jail. She posted bond within an hour and is free, awaiting trial.

Guyger told investigators she had parked on the wrong floor of the parking garage of the complex where she lived, then walked into the apartment directly above hers thinking it was her own.

She said she saw a silhouette in the apartment and mistook Jean for a burglar. She fired her service weapon twice, striking him in the torso.

Before the shooting, Jean was watching football in his apartment. He had been eating cereal and texting a friend.

Jean's family and their attorneys have cast doubt on the officer's version of events, pointing to differences in Guyger's account of the shooting as written in various documents, such as the arrest-warrant affidavit and search-warrant affidavits.

Merritt has previously said that he doesn't think Guyger went to Jean's apartment accidentally but that he doesn't have a theory of what happened.

Jean was buried Monday in his home country of St. Lucia, where mourners gathered demanding justice for his death.
 

C_Hallbert

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Botham Jean's family to sue city of Dallas and Amber Guyger, attorney says
1 hr ago
1537978177-JEANFAMILY_0914met.jpg

Staff Photographer
Don't miss a story. Like us on Facebook.
The family of 26-year-old Botham Jean plans to sue the city of Dallas and the former Dallas police officer who shot him in his own apartment earlier this month.

Attorney Lee Merritt said Allison and Bertrum Jean plan to file a federal lawsuit claiming excessive use of force by Amber Guyger.

The city will be named as a defendant because Guyger was operating "under the color of state authority" even though she was off the clock, Merritt said.

"She is in uniform, she was wearing a badge, she purports to give commands which he allegedly failed to comply to," he said. "Clocking in or clocking out has no bearing on that analysis."

Merritt said he didn't know when the lawsuit would be filed.

Legal experts have said Dallas could be held liable for Jean's death if attorneys can convince a court that Guyger was acting in the scope of her employment when she killed Jean.

1537978212-BothamJean9.jpg

Allison and Bertrum Jean pose for a portrait as they hold a photo of their son Botham Shem Jean at their home in Castries, St. Lucia on Tuesday, September 25, 2018. Botham Jean was shot and killed in his apartment by off duty Dallas police officer Amber Guyger. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News)

(Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer)

The Dallas Police Department fired Guyger on Monday, more than two weeks after the Sept. 6 shooting at the South Side Flats apartment complex in the Cedars. She was charged with manslaughter three days after the shooting and turned herself in to the Kaufman County Jail. She posted bond within an hour and is free, awaiting trial.

Guyger told investigators she had parked on the wrong floor of the parking garage of the complex where she lived, then walked into the apartment directly above hers thinking it was her own.

She said she saw a silhouette in the apartment and mistook Jean for a burglar. She fired her service weapon twice, striking him in the torso.

Before the shooting, Jean was watching football in his apartment. He had been eating cereal and texting a friend.

Jean's family and their attorneys have cast doubt on the officer's version of events, pointing to differences in Guyger's account of the shooting as written in various documents, such as the arrest-warrant affidavit and search-warrant affidavits.

Merritt has previously said that he doesn't think Guyger went to Jean's apartment accidentally but that he doesn't have a theory of what happened.

Jean was buried Monday in his home country of St. Lucia, where mourners gathered demanding justice for his death.

It is fair to consider the following elements in this incident:

1. Did the Officer follow police training in her interaction with the victim?
2. Did the Officer follow Department Standard Operating Procedure when she engaged the victimized his Apartment?
3. Did the Officer issue Standard Verbal Police Commands when she engaged the victim?

It should be noted that affirmative answers to any of these questions suggest that her behavior was inappropriate.



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SoonerP226

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Of course they're going to sue the city. She's not going to have any money after this is done, and her earning potential will be shot (no pun intended). The city has the deep pockets here, and they'll probably settle it out of court, whether or not they have any actual liability, just to put an end to it. After all, the taxpayers will be the ones taking it in the shorts, not the politicrits who sign off on it.
 

Dave70968

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I guess the question to ask is “do the orders and commands of off duty officers (especially in uniform) carry the weight and authority of their occupation?”
How would the person receiving the command know if the officer is on- or off-duty?

At least as far as liability goes, it makes very good sense for an officer who appears to be exercising her authority an officer to be treated as such. The same principle applies to whether or not a subject is in custody (for Miranda purposes, etc.).
 

ignerntbend

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Is this my apartment or is it not? Are you the police? The Veil of Maya prevents us from knowing reality. What is reality? How might we know reality if we were to, like, you know, encounter it, dude?
 

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