Dallas officer who shot, killed neighbor is fired

The Dallas Police Department on Monday fired an officer who fatally shot her neighbor inside his apartment earlier this month, an episode that gripped the city and led to protests over the killing of an unarmed black man in his own home at the hands of law enforcement.

The department’s chief, U. Renee Hall, announced the termination of the officer, Amber Guyger, citing her arrest in the killing of Botham Shem Jean, who lived above Guyger in a Dallas apartment complex. Guyger, who was off duty, entered Jean’s apartment the evening of Sept. 6 and fired her service weapon twice, striking him once in the torso.

Guyger, 30, was placed on administrative leave immediately after the shooting and charged with manslaughter several days later. Hall faced mounting pressure to fire Guyger, but she said at a town-hall-style meeting last week that state and federal laws prevented her from doing so, without citing specifics. She also argued that taking action could harm the investigation into the death of Jean, 26.

S. Lee Merritt, a lawyer for the Jean family, said that Hall called Sunday night to tell them that, despite those concerns, she planned to dismiss Guyger.

Hall said Monday that she had waited until the “critical portion” of the investigation was completed, but she did not elaborate.

“As a police chief, my job is to ensure the integrity, the highest level of integrity in this criminal investigation, and that is what I did,” she said.

Guyger told investigators that she mistook Jean’s apartment for her own, that his door was slightly ajar and that it opened when she tried to unlock it. But lawyers for Jean’s family have said the door was closed, and that neighbors heard someone banging on the door, demanding to be let in, before the gun was fired.

Merritt said Jean was to be buried Monday in his home country, St. Lucia.