(ThyBlackMan.com) On October 2, 2019, a little over a year after the shooting death of Botham Jean, Amber Guyger was sentenced to 10 years in prison after a weeklong trial. Guyger, a five year veteran of the Dallas Police Department, shot and killed Jean as he sat in his apartment watching TV and enjoying bowl of ice cream. Jean was a St. Lucia native, an Eastern Caribbean Island nation and work as an accountant with the accounting firm Pricewaterhousecoopers. Jean was an active member of the Church of Christ in Richardson Texas as a preacher, teacher, and singer. Guyger mistakenly went to his fourth floor unit thinking she was entering her own, which was actually located one floor below. The jury took less than 24 hours to return their verdict. According to media reports, Guyger sobbed on the witness stand, Friday September 26, 2019, as she recounted the events on the night of September 6, 2018. She was the first witness for the defense.
Guyger testified that she would forever regret the night she shot Jean. “I never want anybody to ever have to go through or even imagine what I had to go through, or even imagine what I had to go through that night,” she said in what could be read as self-serving, during her testimony. Prosecutor Jason Fine said, “That is garbage. Most of what she said is garbage.” Fine also stated she made the decision outside Jean’s front door to go in commando style and execute whomever she encountered. “For Amber Guyger, Mr. Jean was dead before that door ever opened,” Fine further accreted. The prosecutors also argued, Guyger should have noticed several clues that she was at the wrong apartment, starting with the red doormat that belonged to Jean, as well as the large entryway table in her unit that Jean did not. Additionally, Guyger called 911, after pacing back and forth talking on her phone immediately the murder, instead administering lifesaving CPR. Video of Guyger’s acts after the shooting were captured on cell phone belonging to a neighbor of Jean.
A person only identified as “Bunny” recorded Guyger after hearing the fatal shots, and recalls hearing Jean say, “Why did you shoot me?” The video was seized by prosecutors and has not been made public. She was also placed under a gag order, unable to discuss the details of what she saw. According to Ezra Marus of Mic.com, “The narrative surrounding Jean’s murder raised parallels to America’s long history of white women’s prejudicial fears of Black men being used to justify horrific racist violence. People also felt that were Guyger to escape charges, it would help cement a dangerous standard of perceived police invincibility.” Guyger’s conviction was the first in 40 years of a Dallas police officer and the first female officer ever in the city’s history. Between 2015 and 2017, 35 percent of police officers arrested in fatal on duty shootings were convicted of manslaughter or murder charges, according to Philip Stinson – a leading expert on police shooting in America. Stinson estimates between 900 and 1000 civilians are shot and killed by police every year. Allegations of evidence tampering was present from the start.
On the night of the murder, a defense attorney for the Jean family said in court proceedings that Sgt. Mike Mata, the president of Dallas’ largest police union ordered that the in-car camera of a Sgt. Breanna Valentine shut off in order for him to speak with Guyger privately. Mata also allowed her to interact with other officers on the crime scene, showing what could be viewed as preferential treatment no ordinary person would have be granted. In-car video prior to these interactions showed Guyger frantically texting on her phone. Also, Martin Rivera, Guyger’s married lover and DPD partner admitted to deleting text messages of a sexual nature from his phone in the aftermath of the shooting. Rivera is still employed by the DPD. Guyger’s implausible excuse also stated that she was in fear of her life because she thought Jean was a burglar.
She was allegely exhausted from work which caused her to misidentify her own apartment and forced her way into Jean’s. It is not clear if his door was ajar. It took three days to make an arrest, and Guyger was released on a $300,000 bond after spending only a few hours in custody. It took 18 days for Guyger to be fired, and five search warrants for her home were never executed. According to Jamil Smith, a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine, policing in the U.S. has evolved throughout the centuries, but killing Black people with impunity has been a common theme for what seems like forever. Guyger’s crime seemed almost manufactured by some kind of racist trickster to test the boundaries of Black sanity. After the trial, some interesting development occurred after Guyger’s conviction.
Brandt Jean asked Judge Kemp if he could give a hug to the woman who killed his brother – saying in part, “I forgive you. I love you, just like everybody else. I think giving your life to Christ would be the best thing that Botham would want you to do.” This statement was met with some backlash on social media, as well as other media outlets. Also, Joshua Brown, a neighbor of Jean and Guyger at the Southside Flats Apartments, was gunned down Friday, October 5, 2019 around 10:00 pm shot in the mouth and chest. “To have a key witness suddenly be killed is suspicious. Was this related to the trial? There is no clear indication,” Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney who represents the Brown and Jean families, told CBS News on Monday (October 7, 2019.) Guyger will be eligible for parole in five years.
Amber Guyger’s piece sources:
Jones. “Woman Who Filmed Shooting of Botham Jean Fired from her Job as Retaliation.” 01. Oct. 2019. Rolling Out. Web. 03. Oct. 2019
Anna Kaplan and Pilar Melendez. “Slain Witnessin Guyger Case was Set to Testify in Civil Suit Against the City of Dallas.” 07. Oct. 2019. The Daily Beast. Web. 07. Oct. 2019
Darron Simon. “Botham Jean’s brother hugs the former police officer who killed him.” 03. Oct. 2019. CNN. Web. 07.Oct. 2019.
Jamil Smith. “We Should Not have to Be Surprised by a Murder Conviction When a Black Man is Murdered.” 02. Oct. 2019. Web. Rolling Stone. 02. Oct. 2019
LaVendrick Smith, Jennifer Emily, Cassandra Jaramillo and Dana Branham. “Police treated Amber Guyger special on night of shooting, prosecutor argues.” 28. Sept. 2019. Dallas Morning News. Web. 28. Sept. 2019
Lydia O’Connor. “Former Dallas Cop Found Guilty of Murdering Botham Jean in his Own Home.” 01. Oct. 2019. HuffPost. Web. 01. Oct. 2019
NewsOne Staff. “Dallas Police Offer Amber Guyger Kills Botham Jen in His Own Home.” 28. Sept. 2019. NewOne. Web. 28. Sept. 2019
NewOne Staff. “From Drug Use to Lying Amber Guyger’s Shady Past Revealed After Guilty Verdict.” 01. Oct. 2019. NewsOne. Web. 01. Oct. 2019
Stephen Young. “Most of What She Said in Garbage: Closing Arguments Wrap in State v. Amber Guyger.” 30. Sept. 2019. Dallas Observer. Web. 01. Oct. 2019
Stephen Young. “DPD Launches Investigation After Guyger Trial Revelations. 03. Oct. 2019. Dallas Observer. Web. 03. Oct. 2019
Staff Writer; Gustavus Betts
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