Case against Dallas officer goes to grand jury
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 in uniform to the South Side Flats apartment complex. She parked on the fourth floor, instead of the third, where she lived, possibly suggesting that she was confused or disoriented.
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 concluded that her apartment was being burglarized, drew her weapon and fired twice. When she turned on the lights, she realized she was in the wrong unit, the newspaper reported.
A spokeswoman for the Texas Rangers did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking to confirm the details of newspaper report.
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.
Allison Jean raises her hands in the air as she leans on her son Brandt during a Sunday prayer service for her son and Brandt’s brother Botham Jean at the Dallas West Church of Christ on Sunday.