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Attorney: Family of Dallas police shooting victim will sue

September 26, 2018 GMT

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FILE - This March 24, 2014, file photo provided by Harding University in Searcy, Ark., shows Botham Jean, speaking at the university. The Dallas police officer accused of fatally shooting Jean inside his own apartment has been dismissed, the police department announced Monday, Sept. 24, 2018. The Dallas Police Department fired Officer Amber Guyger weeks after she fatally shot 26-year-old Jean inside his own apartment on Sept. 6. Court records show Guyger said she thought she had encountered a burglar inside her own home.(Jeff Montgomery/Harding University via AP, File)

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DALLAS (AP) — The family of a 26-year-old black man who authorities say was fatally shot by a white Dallas police officer after she mistook his apartment for her own intends to file a federal lawsuit claiming excessive use of force.

Attorney Lee Merritt said Wednesday that Botham Jean’s family will name Amber Guyger and the city of Dallas as defendants in the lawsuit.

Merritt didn’t say when the lawsuit will be filed.

Guyger told investigators she had just ended her shift Sept. 6 when she returned to her apartment complex, but she went to the wrong unit. The door was ajar and swung open to reveal a figure in the dark apartment. Investigators say Guyger drew her service weapon moments later and fired twice, striking Jean.

Guyger was fired Monday.