Botham Jean's Family Files Lawsuit Against South Side Flats Apartments Where He Was Killed
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - It's been almost two years to the the day that an accountant sitting inside his apartment, having a bowl of ice cream, was shot and killed by an off-duty Dallas police officer. Now the family of Botham Jean is suing the complex where he was killed, saying his door lock didn't work properly.
The parents and sister of Jean filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Dallas County district court.
Jean was fatally shot on September 6, 2018, by Officer Amber Guyger, who testified that she thought she was entering her own apartment and that Jean was an intruder. Guyger was eventually fired and charged with murder. She was convicted in 2019 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Officials with the South Side Flats -- an apartment complex on South Lamar Street, just one block from Dallas police headquarters -- an apartment management company and a lock company also named in the suit did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Thursday.
The lawsuit said there were multiple incidents at the complex where the doors and locking mechanisms didn't operate on a consistent basis.
The lawsuit also alleges that when Guyger arrived at Jean's door — one floor above hers — his door either hadn't closed as it was designed to do or her key fob allowed her to enter an apartment that wasn't hers.
The suit further claims that the design of the building often led to tenants and guests parking on the wrong floor or entering the wrong apartment by mistake.
In December, a federal judge ruled the city of Dallas was not liable for Guyger's off-duty shooting, dismissing the city from a lawsuit brought by Jean's family.
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