Case vs. officer to go to grand jury
Charges possible in death of neighbor in his home
DALLAS — The case against a white Dallas police officer who shot and killed a black neighbor in the neighbor’s home will be presented to a grand jury, which could decide on more serious charges than manslaughter, the district attorney overseeing the case said Monday.
Lawyers for the victim’s family questioned why it took three days for officer Amber Guyger to be charged and why she was so quick to use deadly force in her encounter with 26-year-old Botham Jean, who lived on a different floor in the same apartment complex. She told authorities she mistook the neighbor’s unit for her own.
The officer was arrested Sunday night and booked into jail in neighboring Kaufman County before being released on bond.
When asked why Guyger was allowed to surrender somewhere other than Dallas County’s jail, Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson said the decision was made by the Texas Rangers, who are also investigating.
Citing an unidentified law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the case, The Dallas Morning News reported that Guyger had just ended a 15-hour shift Thursday when she returned to the South
Side Flats apartment complex. She parked on the fourth floor, instead of the third, where she lived.
When she put her key in the unlocked apartment door, it opened. Inside, the lights were off. Then she saw a figure in the darkness, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
The officer drew her weapon and fired twice. When she turned on the lights, she realized she was in the wrong unit, the newspaper reported.
Mayor Mike Rawlings also said Monday that Guyger had parked on the wrong floor.
The Dallas County medical examiner’s office said Jean died of a gunshot wound to the chest. His death was ruled a homicide.
Jean’s mother said investigators had not given her family an account of what happened. Allison Jean told a news conference that she asked many questions but was told there are no answers yet.
The family hired attorney Benjamin Crump, who is best known for representing the families of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown.
“Black people in America have been killed by police in some of the most unbelievable manners,” Crump said Monday at a news conference, citing “driving while black in our cars” and “walking while black in our neighborhoods.” Now, he said, “we are being killed living while black when we are in our apartments.”
On the day after the shooting, Police Chief U. Renee Hall said her department was seeking manslaughter charges against Guyger, a four-year veteran of the police force. But Hall said Saturday that the Texas Rangers asked her department to hold off because they had learned new information and wanted to investigate further before a warrant was issued.
The district attorney will also have the option of presenting more serious charges to the grand jury.
Sgt. Mike Mata, president of Dallas’ largest police union, the Dallas Police Association, called Saturday for an “open, transparent and full investigation of the event,” the newspaper reported.