‘I’m Mexican’: Amber Guyger’s family denies racism claims
Her brother-law, Noe Garza, said the family’s not racist, and does not have ties to any white supremacist organizations.
The family of Dallas officer Amber Guyger is defending itself against allegations of racism after questionable photos surfaced online. The defense comes after the officer was arrested and charged with killing unarmed Black man Botham Shem Jean in his own apartment— reportedly mistaking it for her own.
READ MORE: Did Amber Guyger kill Botham Shem Jean over noise? Family lawyer draws link
Guyger’s brother-law, Noe Garza, said the family’s not racist, and does not have ties to any white supremacist organizations.
Garza said he’s not a member of any hate group but does hate “the fact that I have to prove I’m not racist.”
Garza is seen throwing up hand signs in a few photos a telephone interview Tuesday with the Dallas Morning News, the gestures were meant to be silly and fun.
“My last name is Garza. I’m a Mexican,” he said. “I don’t care about your nationality. I don’t care about the color of your skin. We all bleed red.”
In another photo, he said he was just holding up the hand signs for a “W” and an “L” which he said was a shout-out to the group Lagwagon that he saw perform live.
“It’s one of my favorite bands,” Garza explained.
He’s also pictured in another photo wearing a gray T-shirt and black shorts, flashing a hand sign. He said he was celebrating his father-in-law’s 69th birthday.
“None of these are racist photos,” Garza, a former chef, said. “I am not racist.”
“It’s was his 69th birthday, so it was a 69,” said Garza. “That’s all it was.”
Garza’s wife, Alana Guyger, who is Amber Guyger’s sister.
READ MORE: Dallas police identify cop who killed unarmed black man after entering wrong apartment
Alana is also seen in a photo internet sleuths unearthed, with Guyger’s mother is seen sporting an “All Lives Matter,” T-shirt, a swipe at the Black Lives Matter movement. Alana explains that her mom was given the shirt in support of the five Dallas officers who were gunned down in 2016.
Connecting the Dots
An attorney for Botham Shem Jean, who was shot and killed by the off-duty cop who entered his apartment, said so far there’s only one thing that connects his client to the accused Dallas cop – Amber Guyger lived one floor directly above Jean’s door.
“The only connection we have been able to make is that she was his immediate downstairs neighbor,” family attorney S. Lee Merritt told CNN. hostBrooke Baldwin on Tuesday.
“And there were noise complaints from the immediate downstairs neighbors about whoever was upstairs, and that would have been Botham. In fact, there were noise complaints that very day about upstairs activity in Botham’s apartment. Botham received a phone call about noise coming from his apartment from the downstairs neighbor.”
But everything else Guyger has since claimed in an affidavit surrounding the details of how she came in contact with the 26-year-old accountant is self-serving and “much of the affidavit doesn’t comport with common sense,” Merritt said. “Certain statements are demonstratively false.”
Authorities have not released any 911 tapes related to the shooting.
Merritt says he does not accept the arrest document’s narrative.
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