Murder of Botham Jean

Guyger's apartment was on the third floor, directly below Jean's apartment on the fourth floor, in an apartment building with mostly identical floor plans on each level.[8] Guyger testified that she thought the apartment was her own, and that she found the door slightly ajar,[9] and she testified that she thought Jean was an intruder in the darkened living room[10] where he was sitting eating ice cream, in an apartment she thought was hers. She claimed she feared Jean would kill her.[11] Jean was unarmed.[3][5]

After Guyger shot Jean, she called 9-1-1. Jean was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died from his wound. The Texas Rangers investigated the shooting, which led to Guyger's arrest three days later.[12]

Guyger was initially charged with manslaughter, but was later charged with murder.[3] The initial charge of manslaughter and the racial aspect of the shooting resulted in protests in the following days.[3]

The Dallas Police Department placed Guyger on paid administrative leave after the shooting. The department fired her on September 24, 2018.[13]

Botham Shem Jean, a 26-year-old black man, was a Harding University alumnus and an accountant for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Jean was born in Saint Lucia.[15]^:1[16]

Following the shooting, an attorney representing Jean's family accused the Dallas police department of attempting to smear Jean's reputation by publicizing a police affidavit showing that police seized 10.4 grams of marijuana from Jean's apartment.[17] The lawyers also disputed the account of the incident that Guyger told officials, which was recorded in the arrest warrant affidavit, and asserted that two independent witnesses had come forward to give recollections that conflicted with Guyger's account. An attorney for Jean asserted that witnesses claimed they heard knocking on the door to Jean's apartment and that a witness claimed they heard a woman's voice saying "Let me in, let me in."[18]

Amber Renée Guyger (born August 9, 1988)[19] was 30 years old at the time of the shooting. She had been on the Dallas police force for almost five years.

On November 30, 2018, Guyger was indicted on murder charges by a Dallas County grand jury.[20] On September 22, 2019, the day before the trial began, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot took part in an interview regarding the trial in spite of a gag order issued by Judge Tammy Kemp in January of that year. After questioning jurors, who reported that they had not seen the interview or other media coverage of the trial, Kemp denied the defense's motion for a mistrial, and sequestered the jury.[21]

Manslaughter charges would have merely required proof of recklessness, while murder charges require proof that the defendant intended to kill.[22] The prosecutors alleged criminal intent for two reasons: firstly, they said her arrival at the wrong apartment (on the wrong floor) was not caused by tiredness, but rather caused by the conversation she had immediately prior with her lover trying to arrange a meeting that night, and secondly that she did not follow standard police protocol of not entering a building with a potential burglar inside and instead calling for backup from the police station, which was only two blocks away.[22]^:1[23]

On October 1, 2019, Guyger was found guilty of murder.[6] The jury deliberated for six hours to reach the verdict of murder.[22] The jurors also considered the lesser charge of manslaughter.[22] She was the first Dallas police officer to be convicted of murder since the 1973 murder of Santos Rodriguez.[22]

On October 2, 2019, Guyger was sentenced to 10 years in prison after the jury deliberated for an hour.[7] During the sentencing hearing, Jean's mother Allison provided emotional testimony and some of Guyger's text messages and social media posts that were "racist and offensive" were shared.[24] Jean's younger brother Brandt forgave and hugged Guyger during her sentencing. Jean's father Bertrum also stated that he forgave Guyger but had wanted a stiffer sentence. Trial judge Tammy Kemp, who is also African-American, drew controversy when she embraced Guyger and handed her a Bible, with the Freedom from Religion Foundation criticizing her for alleged proselytizing.[25][26][27][28]

On October 16, 2019, Guyger's attorneys filed a notice of appeal requesting a new trial.[29][30]

On August 7, 2020 Guyger's attorneys filed an appeal of the conviction on the grounds "there was insufficient evidence to convict her of murder. The court should either acquit Guyger of that charge, or acquit her of murder, convict her of criminally negligent homicide (manslaughter), and hold a new hearing on the punishment."[31]

Guyger is currently imprisoned in the Mountain View Correctional Center.[32]

On January 13, 2021, the Dallas City Council unanimously voted to rename approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) of South Lamar Street from Interstate 30 to South Central Expressway (S.M. Wright Freeway) as Botham Jean Boulevard. The street passes Jean's former apartment and Dallas police headquarters.[42]

• List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States, September 2018
• Shooting of Atatiana Jefferson