A Dallas police officer faces charges after killing a 26-year-old man in his apartment.
The officer mistakenly entered the apartment after finishing her shift before shooting Botham Shem Jean, the resident, according to
Dallas police. She then called 911 and told them what happened. Although she was off-duty she was still wearing her uniform.
Dallas Police Chief Reneé Hall said at a
news conference that the officer will only be identified after being formally charged. The police are seeking charges for manslaughter. The Texas Rangers are handling the investigation for reasons of transparency, according to Hall.
Jean was a native of the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. He graduated in 2016 from private Christian school Harding University, in Arkansas. He stayed in the United States to do an internship with a Dallas location of PricewaterhouseCoopers,
NBC News reported.
Hall said police drew a blood sample from the officer to test for drugs and alcohol. She didn’t say why the officer entered the wrong apartment nor what happened once she and Jean came face-to-face.
“Just last week I was thinking of what to get you for your birthday, now I have to go pick out your casket. You will always be my baby brother. I love you with all of my heart Botham Shem Jean. Until we meet again my love,” Jean’s sister, Allisa Charles-Findley, wrote in a
Facebook post.
“The Harding family learned this morning of the tragic death of 2016 alumnus Botham Jean who was shot in his home last night. Originally from St. Lucia, Botham was a member of Good News Singers, a resident assistant, an intern for the Rock House campus ministry, and a leader in Sub T-16 men’s social club,” wrote Harding University, in a
blog post. “Botham frequently led worship for chapel and for campus events such as Uplift, and this morning, President Bruce McLarty shared his favorite memory of Jean with students in chapel.”
According to
Jean’s Facebook page, he studied Accountancy and Management Information Systems at the school.
Hall said that police initially thought it was an officer-involved shooting, and enacted protocol as such. When the situation became clearer, Hall decided to press charges on the officer. She told the press that the whereabouts of the officer are currently unknown due to the initial confusion about the situation. The officer was placed on administrative leave at first, according to Dallas police.
A Twitter
post from WFAA reporter Rebecca Lopez says the officer had just finished a 12-hour shift, having worked overtime and making a late arrest. A source told the reporter the officer was tired and walked into the wrong apartment by mistake, and that she was a five-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department.
Commenters on the post had questions about the details.
“Still super suspect! I don’t care how tired I am, I know where I live!! And I know what the inside of my home looks like! Should’ve been a simple ‘oh damn, sorry, wrong apartment!’ This doesn’t jive at all,” wrote @rmeza75.
“Somebody has to be crazy not to realize that they walked into the wrong apartment,” Jean’s mother told NBC News. “He’s a bachelor. Things are different inside.”
“And if you try your key and it doesn’t work, that should make you realize you’re at the wrong apartment,” she added. “Every door for each apartment is also numbered.”
