The mother of a Detroit man shot and killed by a bailiff during an eviction attempt has filed a $150 million federal lawsuit. Velma Lynne Wafer, acting as personal representative of the Estate of Sherman Lee Butler, says her 44-year-old son was gunned down after a court officer and Detroit police officers entered his apartment.
The lawsuit, reported by CBS News, is now pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan under docket number 2:2026cv13871, according to court records listed on dockets.justia.com, which show the complaint was filed with a jury demand and a $405 filing fee in an action arising out of Wayne County.
A crisis intervention team was on its way to the apartment. That timeline sits at the center of the family's case, which argues that an intervention meant to de-escalate the situation never had the chance to unfold before the shooting occurred.
What Happened on Manderson Road
Butler was fatally shot on July 12, 2024, during an eviction attempt at an apartment in the 17600 block of Manderson Road in Detroit, per the court docket's underlying CBS News reporting. The shooting set off months of scrutiny from tenant advocates and a formal review by prosecutors before any public account of what the bailiff and officers encountered inside the apartment became available.
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office ultimately determined that the bailiff acted in self-defense and in defense of others and declined to file charges, the station's report notes. Prosecutor Kym Worthy said at the time that “the actions of the bailiff were not criminal given these circumstances,” closing the door on criminal liability even as the civil case now moves forward.
Advocates Pushed for Body-Camera Footage
The decision not to charge the bailiff came only after sustained public pressure over transparency in the case. The Detroit Tenants Association and Detroit Eviction Defense had demanded that Detroit police release body-camera footage of the shooting, per the same CBS News account, arguing that the public deserved to see what happened during the eviction attempt.
The federal complaint now puts the spotlight back on the civil side of the case, with Wafer's family seeking $150 million in damages tied to her son's death. The lawsuit remains in its early stages in federal court.
