Lafayette Police officer shot man who died in nightclub parking lot, lawsuit alleges
The daughter of a man who died after a shooting in a night club's parking lot claims in a lawsuit a Lafayette Police officer killed him.
Deshawn Batiste was shot and killed in The District parking lot on Aug. 8, 2021. The club was full of concert-goers there to see rapper Weebie, authorities said at the time.
A Lafayette Police officer, who was working off-duty security at the club, responded to the shooting in the parking lot. The officer approached those involved and gave commands, but was fired upon and shot back, authorities said at the time.
An arrest has not been made in Batiste's death.
Dalana Dalcourt filed the wrongful death lawsuit last month in Lafayette Parish on behalf of Batiste's daughter. It names The District, Lafayette Consolidated Government and an unknown Lafayette Police officer.
A spokesperson said LCG does not comment on pending litigation. The Daily Advertiser called The District's owner and had not received a comment by publication time.
The lawsuit claims dozens of shots were fired in The District's parking lot but Batiste was shot and killed by a Lafayette Police officer. It does not say why Dalcourt believes Batiste was shot by an officer.
The lawsuit alleges The District failed to have enough security for the number of people in the club and the parking lot. It also claimed the security that was there was not properly trained to handle the concert-goers and disburse the lingering crowd after the show ended.
"Chaos erupted" because of a lack of security, adequate lighting, adequate preparation for the crowd, and failure to prevent congregation in the parking lot, the lawsuit alleges.
After the shooting, the Lafayette Police Department tried to close The District, but that effort was blocked by a judicial order in an unusual Saturday court hearing. The fallout of that judicial order is still moving through a lawsuit and counter lawsuit.
Background informationJudge orders The District to produce records of questionable hearing in lawsuit against City
The District should have had a safety plan created with the Lafayette Police Department, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit claimed there were more than 83 calls for service to The District from Jan. 2, 2021, to Aug. 8, 2021, and in June 2021 there were at least two separate calls of shots fired.
"Petitioner alleges that the death of Dashawn Batiste was the result of the failure of the defendants to properly and adequately secure the facility and failed to properly train officers in the proper way to secure the facility and the parking lot," Joslyn Alex, the attorney representing Dalcourt wrote.
Batiste's daughter has suffered loss of future support, loss of enjoyment of life and loss of support of income, the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit is asking for a jury trial. A hearing date has not yet been set.
Contact Ashley White at adwhite@theadvertiser.com or on Twitter @AshleyyDi.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Man fatally shot outside The District by Lafayette Police, lawsuit claims
