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Young Saint Lucian Killed by Dallas Police after entering the Wrong Apartment

Image of a twenty-six year old Botham Shem Jean

The life of twenty-six year old Botham Shem Jean was cut short after an officer attached to the Dallas Police Department mistakenly entered his apartment and shot him.

Reports indicate that on September 6, 2018 at about 9:59 p.m., an off duty Dallas Police officer called police dispatch and said she was involved in a shooting at the apartments located at 1210 S.

Image of twenty-six year old Botham Shem Jean
Twenty-six year old Botham Shem Jean

According to the DPD, “preliminary information suggests that the officer arrived home in full uniform after working a full shift. The officer reported to the responding officers that she entered the victim’s apartment believing that it was her own. At some point, the officer fired her weapon striking the victim. Responding officers administered aid to the victim, a 26-year-old male, at the scene. The victim was then transported to the hospital and pronounced deceased.”

The Dallas Police Department confirmed that they are conducting a joint investigation with the District Attorney’s Office and that the investigation is ongoing and the female officer has been placed on administrative leave.

Botham is a former student of Harding University. He also studied at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, and also the St. Mary’s College. He was the son of former Permanent Secretary Allison Jean and Bertram Jean.

4 Comments

  1. I am so incredibly sad and sorry for the family of this incredible young man. He did not deserve to die this way. He was a young man rising to his potential and the Dallas community is in shock that our own police can do this to another human being. To the people of St Lucia, so many of us here in Dallas want you to know we all cannot let his name be lost in time. We honor him and ask for your forgiveness on behalf of our own community.

  2. Probable cause, reasonable suspicion, can easily be found in court cases and law school textbooks, but are much harder to find in real life situations. There is an absence of significant constraint on the exercise of police discretion when dealing with minorities and African Americans which has been facilitated by the U.S. Supreme court by eviscerating the 4th amendment. Police officers have been given a mandate to operate freely without regard to 4th amendment rights.
    The fourth amendment states “People have the right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the person or things to be seized. Many Legal scholars have recognized a sharp turn in supreme court 4th amendment jurisprudence. Warrantless searches (California V Acevado) have been upheld by the supreme court. Virtually all constitutionally protected civil liberties have been undermined by the court even in cases of unreasonable suspicion. (Terry V Ohio) 1968.
    We probably will never know the full circumstances surrounding the unfortunate death of this young St. Lucian. The officer involved was his neighbor and it is not clear how she could have mistaken his apartment for hers. She was not in possession of a search warrant and no probable cause or reasonable suspicion existed at the time of the incident. As of now he was not involved in any wrongdoing. But we must be mindful that the supreme court has facilitated unfair targeting of African Americans and failed to protect minorities from the excesses of majoritarian democracy and guaranteeing constitutional rights for groups deemed unpopular or subject to prejudice. Originally the police had been following protocol for a police shooting.

  3. Mistaken the apartment for hers indeed! Even if she was sleep walking she could not not have mistaken the apartment. There is definitely something amiss here. I hope they do a thorough investigation of this matter. Condolences to the family.

  4. The editor of the Voice is asleep on the job! The headline above says the exact opposite of what’s in the body of the article.

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