No Charges to Issue in Fatal Shooting Detroit Man by Bailiff
Published on December 03, 2024
On July 12, 2024, around 10:53 am, Detroit Police Officers #1 and #2 were dispatched to a building in the 17650 block of Manderson in Detroit to assist a bailiff who was attempting to evict a resident without success. The officers met with a 36th District Court Bailiff * who informed them he was dealing with an aggressive person in an apartment. Once the apartment door was breached, the bailiff and officers entered the apartment. The DPD officers were wearing Body Worn Cameras during the entire incident.
Officer #1 attempted to explain to the apartment occupant, Sherman Butler, 44, of Detroit, that he was being evicted by the Bailiff. The order of eviction was given to Officer #1 to read to Mr. Butler. Mr. Butler was sitting on a bed in the bedroom with a box cutter in his right hand placed next to his neck. He was highly agitated and refused to leave the apartment. He made multiple statements that the only way he was leaving was if the Officers used weapons and killed him. Mr. Butler was instructed numerous times to drop the box cutter. He was volatile and consistently refused to drop it.
The decision was made by Officer #1 and the Bailiff to go into the bedroom and tase Mr. Butler to get him to drop the knife. At this time other DPD officers at the scene had called for a Crisis Intervention Team(CIT) to assist a person having a mental health crisis.
Both Officers #1 and #2 deployed their Tasers, but they failed to take effect. Mr. Butler got off the bed waving the box cutter and went towards the Bailiff who was in the corner of the room, and the Bailiff fired shots at Mr. Butler. When he waived the box cutter going towards Officer #1, the Bailiff fired again at Mr. Butler. Multiple shots took effect on Mr. Butler who fell to the floor.
The officers then began rendering aid. EMS was called to the scene; Mr. Butler was conveyed to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
Under Michigan law, an individual is allowed to use force, including deadly force, when necessary to protect themselves and in defense of others. The person must honestly and reasonably believe that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent imminent death or imminent great bodily harm to themselves or others.
In this matter the Bailiff had a valid 36th District Court Order for the eviction of Mr. Butler. The officers were lawfully present in assisting him. The BWC shows the Taser deployed by both officers not having the intended effect on Mr. Butler. Mr. Butler then quickly rose from the bed and went toward the Bailiff and Officer #1 with an outstretched arm containing an open box cutter. At that point the box cutter could reasonably be considered a deadly weapon. The Bailiff believed that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent imminent death or imminent great bodily harm when he fired shots in lawful selfdefense and in the defense of Officer #1.
A thorough review of the facts and evidence shows that the Bailiff acted in lawful self-defense and defense of others. The shooting was justified in this case. There is insufficient evidence to charge him with any crime and the warrant request is denied.
Statement of Prosecutor Worthy
"The alleged facts in this case are far too common and evinces a continued need for mental health crisis intervention teams. The body worn camera footage shows the 36 District Court bailiff did try to deescalate the actions of Mr. Butler, and the police did call a crisis intervention team. However, prior to their arrival, the bailiff had to act in self-defense and defense of others, and as a result Mr. Butler is now deceased. The actions of the bailiff were not criminal given these circumstances," said Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
*WCPO does not release the name of individuals who are not charged with a crime.
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No Charges to Issue in Fatal Shooting Detroit Man by Bailiff During Eviction(PDF, 117KB)