The family of the late Botham Jean of Dallas is suing the apartment complex where the 26-year-old was fatally shot two years ago by former police officer Amber Guyger. Jean’s family alleges a confusing floor layout and faulty door at the complex contributed to Jean’s death, the Dallas Morning News reports. Guyger was still in uniform but off-duty when she returned home from a shift and entered Jean’s apartment and shot him on Sept. 6, 2018. She said he mistook his apartment for hers and wrongly thought he was a burglar. She was convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Many residents testified they had gone to the wrong floor and attempted to enter the wrong apartment before the shooting. Investigators found that 71 residents from the third and fourth floors — where Guyger and Jean lived — had done so.
The lawsuit alleges that a confusing layout and a lack of proper signage made it difficult for residents to tell which floor they were on. Additionally, Jean’s family says a malfunction in Jean’s and other residents’ doors prevented the doors from closing properly, particularly in certain weather conditions. A lawyer for the complex’ management company said that Guyger “was not paying attention to the many well-illuminated signs and other aspects of the property which clearly would have indicated that she was on the wrong floor and at the wrong apartment.”