Dallas police officer Amber Guyger fired after fatally shooting neighbor Botham Jean
- by Kristina Cox
- in World Media
- — Sep 25, 2018
Dallas police officer Amber Guyger was sacked Monday, officials said, weeks after a racially-charged shooting in which the off-duty white cop killed her black neighbor, Botham Jean.
Guyger allegedly walked into the apartment of the neighbor, Botham Jean, and fatally shot him on Sept 6.
In a statement released on Twitter, the department concluded that Guyger "engaged in adverse behavior" when she shot and killed Jean.
The Dallas County district attorney has expressed a desire to present the case to a grand jury - which, as KERA notes, could result in stiffer charges.
"As Botham Shem Jean's family has his homegoing service in St. Lucia this week, this announcement of Amber Guyger's termination from the Dallas Police Department is bittersweet for Botham's family". She remains free after posting $300,000 bond on a manslaughter charge.
On Thursday, Hall said she did not want to risk interfering with a criminal investigation by making a decision about Guyger's employment.
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"I have heard the calls for this action from many, including the Jean family, and I agree that this is right decision in the interest of justice for Botham Jean and the citizens of Dallas", Rawlings said Monday afternoon.
A Dallas police officer who fatally shot a black man inside his own flat, saying she confused it for her own home, has been fired. She also said that the apartment door was left ajar and that the room was completely dark when she fired. Her chief of staff, Thomas Taylor, said that an administrative investigation was on hold until a criminal investigation into Guyger was complete.
The search warrant statement says Mr Jean "confronted the officer at the door". When she opened the door, she saw the interior was almost completely dark, according to the affidavit.
Protesters marched outside the Dallas Cowboys' stadium last week to demand the Guyger be fired and charged with murder. She turned on the lights while on the phone with 911, and only when asked for her address did she realize she was in the wrong apartment, she told police.
After the shooting, Guyger's blood was drawn to be tested for alcohol and drugs, according to Hall. Jean died at a local hospital of a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner's office, which ruled his death a homicide.