Amber Guyger, Dallas police officer who shot and killed Botham Jean in his apartment, charged with manslaughter

Dallas police officer Amber Guyger has been charged with manslaughter for the shooting death of Botham Jean.

Sep 10, 2018

Botham Jean thegrio.com — Amber Guyger Mugshot [Kaufman County Jail] | Botham Shem Jean [Facebook]

Dallas police officer Amber Guyger has been charged with manslaughter for the shooting death of Botham Jean, an unarmed Black man who was in his own apartment at the time of the shooting.

Guyger, a 30-year-old cop who has been with the Dallas Police Department for nearly five years, was arrested on Sunday night for the shooting which occurred last Thursday.

The Dallas News reports that Guyger was booked at 7:20 pm with bail set at $300,000. By 8:30 pm, she was reportedly no longer listed in the jail log.

Puzzling Incident

Investigators and Jean’s family are still trying to determine exactly what happened the night of the shooting. Guyger told investigators that she mistook Jean’s apartment for her own and shot him because she was startled by his presence.

Guyger had reportedly just finished a 15-hour shift and still in uniform when she parked on the wrong floor and entered Jean’s apartment, which had an unlocked the door and lights turned off. That information was gleaned from an official who spoke with the Dallas News under a cloak of anonymity.

Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall announced over the weekend that the investigation was being led by the Texas Rangers to avoid any perceived bias by the Dallas PD.

Mike Rawlings, mayor of Dallas, took to Facebook after Guyger’s arrest to thank Chief Hall for her leadership and the Rangers for their work on the case.

“I want to thank the Texas Rangers for thoroughly investigating this tragic case from the moment the Dallas Police Department requested that they take over on Friday morning,” he wrote. “I am grateful to Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall for her leadership and foresight in calling for the Rangers to handle the investigation to ensure there was no appearance of bias. I also greatly appreciate that our citizens and community leaders were so respectful of the investigative process over these past few days.”

Another Guyger Shooting

The Botham Jean incident is not the first time Guyger has fired her weapon. In May 2017 she shot an injured a suspect. As reported by CNN, Guyger was attempting to identify a person in a vehicle when another passenger exited the car and took Guyger’s taser. According the Dallas PD that is when Guyger shot the suspect who was later taking a weapon from an officer and drug possession.

Botham Jean

Botham Shem Jean was a 26-year-old native of St. Lucia who worked at Pricewaterhouse Cooper. He came from a prominent Caribbean family and was well-liked by neighbors and co-workers. His mother Allie Jean told NBC News “He did no one any wrong.”

Jean’s family is represented by attorney S. Lee Merritt.