HOUSTON – A Houston student whose dorm room at Stephen F. Austin State University was stormed last year has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the school and her former roommates.
“Knowing that these girls can live their lives free doing whatever they want, it just really bothers me because I’m truly suffering and I have to carry the scars of these girls’ actions,” Evans said during an interview with KPRC 2.
Investigators said officers barged into Christin Evans’ dorm room on Sept. 14, 2020, after campus police received a call from the community advisor at the dorm, saying a student was threatening to stab another student with scissors and may have been experiencing a manic episode.
Police said officers responded accordingly but changed their posture once they realized Evans was asleep in her room when they entered.
Investigators said it turned out that the call was false, and six students were accused of orchestrating the incident. None of the six students were charged with a crime.
“These girls, they manipulated the police and the dorm resident assistant to try to harm Christin,” said her mother, LaShondra Evans.
In the lawsuit filed Monday, Evans accused the school and others of violating her right to due process and equal protection, negligence and gross negligence.
Christin has since left SFA and is attending school out of state.
“Hopefully through this lawsuit, they can get some consequences and maybe in the future they will think twice before putting someone in this level of danger,” said Evans’ attorney, Randall Kallinen.
In a statement to KPRC 2 Tony Malley, an attorney representing the students, said:
“Naming our clients in the lawsuit is ridiculous and they deny the allegations. Clearly, the plaintiff has not seen the SFA police body camera videos, the investigative reports of the witnesses, and the video interview of the SFA hall resident assistant. The District Attorney did not find any criminal conduct and SFA’s Disciplinary Board did not find any violations of the student code of conduct. The allegations against our clients here are as reckless as SFA and President Gordon wrongfully accusing the young women when they knew better.”
A spokesperson for SFA said the university cannot comment on pending litigation.
Watch the full news conference below:
Here is the full lawsuit filed by Evans: