STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY

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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. 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:

NACOGDOCHES, 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.

NACOGDOCHES, 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 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.

NACOGDOCHES, 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.

Evans' 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 police storm Black cheerleader's dorm room with guns after false report, family saysA Black cheerleader at Stephen F. Austin State University says she was awakened by police storming her dorm room on with guns drawn after a group of students made a false report that she had scissors and was threatening to stab people, according to the student's attorney, Randall Kallinen. Christin Evans, 17, was sleeping soundly at 3 a.m. on September 14 when campus police rushed into her dorm room at Stephen F. Austin State University with blinding flashlights and guns unholstered. Campus police stated this report was false and a swatting investigation has now been launched, according to Stephen F. Austin's Executive Director of Public Safety John Fields. She’s hearing noises outside her room," Kallinen added. Stephen F. Austin University needs to expel this gang."

A cheerleader at Stephen F. Austin State University says she was awakened by police storming her dorm room with guns drawn after a group of students made a false report to authorities claiming she was threatening to stab people with scissors. Christin Evans, 17, was sleeping soundly at 3 a.m. on September 14 when campus police rushed into her dorm room at Stephen F. Austin State University with blinding flashlights and guns unholstered. The group of students reported Evans to a resident adviser on the school's Nacogdoches, Texas campus, who then called the campus police. Campus police stated this report was false and a swatting investigation has now been launched, according to Stephen F. Austin's Executive Director of Public Safety John Fields. Stephen F. Austin University needs to expel this gang."

It 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.

Stephen F. Austin State University basketball player Nathan Bain became an overnight sensation after he hit a game-winning layup to defeat the No. Bain's family was particularly hit hard by Hurricane Dorian. The powerful storm hit the islands in early September and destroyed "nearly everything of value" belonging to Bain's family, according to the GoFundMe page set up by the school. Stephen F. Austin forward Nathan Bain and guard David Kachelries celebrate Bain's game-winning basket against Duke in overtime. "I was just in disbelief at what basketball had done for my family," Bain told the Associated Press.