Lawyer: Officer accused of killing man can be charged
An attorney for the family of Botham Shem Jean said there’s enough evidence to charge a Dallas police officer who authorities say mistakenly entered Jean’s apartment and killed him.
Calls to arrest Amber Guyger have intensified over the weekend as investigators held off on obtaining an arrest warrant on manslaughter charges. Dallas Police Chief Renée Hall said investigators needed more time to decipher what they have described as an unusual case. The Texas Ranger Division, a separate agency that’s investigating the case, had asked that the warrant be postponed.
The shooting has raised questions about whether Guyger, who is white, used deadly force against Jean, a naturalized U.S. citizen from the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, because he’s black.
Jean, 26, was shot Thursday night in his unit in an apartment building near downtown Dallas. Police said Guyger, still in uniform after working a shift, went inside Jean’s apartment believing it was hers. Police have not said what transpired afterward, other than to say that Guyger fired her weapon. She called 911, and Jean died at a hospital.
Dallas civil rights attorney Lee Merritt said that based on his conversations with officials, including Hall, there was enough evidence to arrest Guyger on suspicion of manslaughter.
The delay has frustrated Jean’s grieving family members and raised questions about deferential treatment for police officers.
“In any normal case wherethere’s probable cause ... you make an arrest,” Mer- ritt said. “When law enforcement (is under investigation), for some reason, we don’t use the normal protocol in dealing with criminal activity.”
Merritt said Jean and the officer did not know each other. The officer’s apartment was directly below Jean’s, he said.
Jean’s mother, Allison, a former St. Lucia government official, called the news of his death “a nightmare.”
“I need to look into her eyes and ask her why did she do that to my son,” Allison Jean told NBC News. “Botham would want me to get justice for him. The state needs to pay for my son.”
Guyger, who has been with the police department for four years, has been placed on administrative leave. She was not injured. Allison Jean embraces hers son’s friends following a prayer vigil for Botham Shem Jean in Dallas. Officials have not explained why she thought Jean’s apartment was hers or what her mental or physical state was at the time. Blood sample has been drawn for alcohol and drug tests.
Apolice spokeswoman referred questions to the Texas Ranger Division. The Texas Department of Public Safety, which oversees the ranger division, has not responded to a request for comment.