DETROIT, Mich. — The family of Sherman Butler, a Detroit man shot and killed by a court bailiff during a 2024 eviction, has filed a $150 million federal lawsuit, saying officials mishandled what was a mental health crisis.
Butler, 44, was shot July 12, 2024, inside his apartment on Manderson Road near Palmer Park. A bailiff from Detroit’s 36th District Court and two Detroit police officers were there to carry out an eviction order.
The suit was filed Friday in the U.S.
Butler was found holding a box cutter to his throat. He was tased, but it did not have the intended effect, and the bailiff fired several shots after Butler moved toward him.
The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office did not charge the bailiff, concluding there was insufficient evidence and that the bailiff acted in self-defense. The Detroit Police Department was asked for comment on the suit.
