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5 things for Houstonians to know for Wednesday, March 24
Read full article: 5 things for Houstonians to know for Wednesday, March 24(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)Here are things to know for Wednesday, March 24:1. “We certainly don’t want to lose that momentum that we’ve had,” said state health department spokesman Chris Van Deusen. Police said officers responded accordingly but changed their posture once they realized Evans was asleep in her room when they entered. I don’t feel safe for any child that goes to that gym,” said a parent who didn’t want to be identified. In the declaration, Watson’s manager claims the woman wanted $30,000 in exchange for her “indefinite silence.”Read more.
Student whose dorm room was stormed by SFA police files lawsuit
Read full article: Student whose dorm room was stormed by SFA police files lawsuitHOUSTON – 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. 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. 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. Watch the full news conference below:Here is the full lawsuit filed by Evans:
Settlement reached in lawsuit over SFA police incident
Read full article: Settlement reached in lawsuit over SFA police incidentNACOGDOCHES, Texas – Six students who have been accused of filing a false police report that led to officers storming a Houston student’s dorm room at Stephen F. Austin State University last month have reached a settlement in the lawsuit against the school. The lawsuit accused the university of violating the rights of the six students by denying them due process. Police said officers responded accordingly but changed their posture once they realized Evans was asleep in her room when they entered. Evans, who is Black, said she believes the incident was orchestrated by her white roommates and motivated by her race. Investigators have said there is no evidence to support that the incident was motivated by Evans' race.
6 students involved in SFA police incident file lawsuit against university
Read full article: 6 students involved in SFA police incident file lawsuit against universityNACOGDOCHES, Texas – Six students involved in an incident where police stormed another student’s room have filed a lawsuit against Steven F. Austin University accusing the school of violating their Fourteenth Amendment right to due process. Evans, who is Black, said she believes the incident was orchestrated by her white roommates and motivated by her race. However, SFA police Chief John Fields said there were multiple ladies involved in the incident and the “evidence doesn’t lead to any racism. “Even worse, SFA has acknowledged numerous falsehoods related to how the incident is being portrayed to and reported in the media, yet SFA continues to rush to punish these students for something they did not do,” the lawsuit reads. A temporary restraining order has been granted to the students, preventing the university from taking any further action and requiring the school to preserve any evidence concerning the incident.
SFA hands over investigation to DA’s office while asking Evans’ family to agree to release the bodycam video of incident
Read full article: SFA hands over investigation to DA’s office while asking Evans’ family to agree to release the bodycam video of incidentSFA also claimed that they are awaiting permission from Evans' family to release body camera video that they said will show police acted “professional." According to Harris, the SFA officers' guns were not drawn or pointed, and that the room was dark. Harris said the university cannot release the video without the permission of Evans and her family. “(We) call on the Evans' family to join us by agreeing to release the bodycam video of the incident,” she said. However, Evans' attorney Randall Kallinen said SFA has not allowed Evans, the family or himself to view the video while simultaneously seeking to release the video for the public and media.
Officials: Evidence supports SFA police incident wasn’t racially motivated
Read full article: Officials: Evidence supports SFA police incident wasn’t racially motivatedNACOGDOCHES, Texas – Investigators at Stephen F. Austin State University said Wednesday they do not believe an incident involving police entering a student’s room earlier this month was racially motivated. Evans, who is Black, said she believed the incident was orchestrated by her white roommates and that she believes the incident was motivated by her race. SFA police Chief John Fields said there are up to 11 females involved in the incident. The chief said officers responded to the incident as if a student’s life was in danger. Gordon also said that he was concerned about the fact that he had to learn about the incident from Evans' family.
‘Something wrong was done’: Civil rights experts, lawyer explain racial implications of SFA incident
Read full article: ‘Something wrong was done’: Civil rights experts, lawyer explain racial implications of SFA incidentEvans' family called the incident a racist set-up based on lies made to police by white students. SFA police chief John Fields said there are 11 females involved: seven is white, three is Black and one is Hispanic. It’s more students doing stuff they shouldn’t be doing,” he said. “My heart goes out to the innocent young lady the victim, in this case, this case of false reporting,” said SFA President Scott Gordon. This is a very serious matter and those students need to be expelled,” SFA President Kallinen said.
SFA president says students who filed false police report against Black student broke code of conduct, possibly law
Read full article: SFA president says students who filed false police report against Black student broke code of conduct, possibly lawHOUSTON – The president of Stephen F. Austin University said the group of students who filed a false police report against a Black freshman student that led to campus police storming the teen’s dorm room with guns drawn, broke the student code of conduct and possibly the law. The attorney for 17-year-old Christin Evans says she was the victim of a racist set-up, orchestrated by her white roommates. In a late Monday tweet, Assistant Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs Adam Peck said a student “conduct process is already underway. Filing a false report violates the SFA Code of Conduct and potentially the law as well. We will not have this at SFA," Gordon wrote in the statement.
SFA campus police storm Black student’s dorm with guns drawn after Houston family says white students made false claims
Read full article: SFA campus police storm Black student’s dorm with guns drawn after Houston family says white students made false claimsIt has made me really paranoid,” said 17-year-old Christin Evans. Kallinen says the teen’s three white roommates, along with as many as seven other girls, initiated the “swatting” by telling their resident assistant that Evans was trying to attack them. “The university is investigating a racially diverse group of students in an incident involving a false report to the university police department. Christin Evans' parents said the majority of the students involved in the incident are white. “I was looking forward to making friends and having a good time on the cheer team, but since this has happened, it’s made it really, really hard,” she said, holding back tears.