Accused of entering her neighbor’s apartment and fatally shooting him, a former Dallas police officer was charged Friday with murdering her unarmed neighbor. Although the ex-cop claims that the door was ajar before mistakenly entering the wrong apartment, at least two witnesses assert that the off-duty officer knocked on the door and said, “Let me in” before the shooting.
Shortly before 10 p.m. on September 6, Dallas police officer Amber Guyger parked on the wrong floor of her apartment complex and entered her neighbor’s apartment, which was occupied by 26-year-old Botham Jean. According to Guyger, she erroneously believed Jean had broken into her apartment when she abruptly shot him to death.
Guyger told police that she mistakenly entered the wrong apartment and shot Jean for not following her orders. But according to an attorney representing Jean’s family, at least two witnesses recalled hearing knocking at Jean’s door and a woman saying, “Let me in” prior to the fatal shooting. The witnesses also remembered Jean placing a red mat at his door to differentiate his apartment from the others.
Three days after the shooting, Guyger was charged with manslaughter for her role in Jean’s needless death. On September 24, Guyger was fired from the department after an internal investigation found the officer had engaged in “adverse conduct” during her arrest.
Jean’s family has filed a lawsuit alleging excessive force.
“I truly believe that she inflicted tremendous evil on my son. He didn’t deserve it,” Jean’s mother, Allison Jean, told reporters Friday. “He felt safe in that apartment, and he was violated.”
On Friday, Guyger was charged with murdering her unarmed black neighbor. She turned herself in and posted a $200,000 bond.
COMMENTS