A Dallas police officer who entered the wrong apartment, having allegedly mistaken it for her own home, and fatally shot a young man could b...
Botham Shem Jean, a 26-year-old native of the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, was killed Thursday night by a “Caucasian female” officer who entered the wrong apartment in her building, according to Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall.
“This is a very unique situation,” Hall told reporters at a Friday afternoon press conference. “We have ceased handling it under our normal protocol as an officer-involved shooting.”
Hall said investigators are seeking a warrant for a manslaughter charge against the officer, who has since been placed on administrative leave. The chief said she would release the officer’s name if and when charges were filed.
Jean was a 2016 graduate of Harding University, a private Christian institution in Arkansas.
“We’re all deeply grieved,” the university wrote in a statement obtained by The Dallas Morning News. “He was just one of those people who really stood out, with his voice and his leadership.”
On his LinkedIn profile, Jean described himself as an “aspiring young professional” who worked as a risk assurance associate for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Dallas.
“This is a terrible tragedy,” the company wrote on Facebook. “Botham Jean was a member of the PwC family in our Dallas office and we are simply heartbroken to hear of his death.”
The officer, a five-year veteran on the force, had completed a 12-hour shift and was off-duty when she entered the South Side Flats apartment complex at about 10 p.m. local time. Upon entering Jean’s apartment, she “fired her weapon striking the victim,” police said in a Friday press release.
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