Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger Photo : Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office ( via AP Photo ) Amber Guyger—the 30-year-old police officer who shot and killed 26-year-old Botham Shem Jean as he sat in his own apartment minding his own business—has been fired from her job with the Dallas Police Department. Advertisement The department announced Guyger’s termination via a post on Twitter, saying the officer had been terminated during a hearing that took place Monday. “Dallas Police Chief U. Reneé Hall terminated Police Officer Amber Guyger, #10702, during a hearing held September 24, 2018,” the statement said. “An Internal Affairs investigation concluded that on September 9, 2018, Officer Guyger, #10702, engaged in adverse conduct when she was arrested for Manslaughter. “Officer Guyger was terminated for her actions. She was hired in November 2013 and was assigned to the Southeast Patrol Division. Under civil service rules, Officer Guyger has the right to appeal her discipline.” The announcement itself is somewhat confusing for a number of reasons. What did Guyger supposedly do when she was arrested on Sept. 9? The shooting was on Sept. 6; is that the date they meant to put on the announcement? Advertisement The Washington Post had the same question, and when they asked, Dallas police said that Guyger was fired “simply because she had been arrested—not for anything she did during the apprehension.” The use of the word “apprehension” is overdoing it a bit, in my opinion, because Guyger turned herself in. She wasn’t apprehended, but whatever. Advertisement Guyger being fired is a good sign, but the fact that she can appeal this decision is not. Furthermore, there needs to be more than a termination. A man was killed for doing nothing more than being in his own apartment. Advertisement Guyger’s story is she parked her car on the wrong level of her parking lot and therefore entered the wrong floor of the building. She went to the door she thought was hers, put her key in the lock, and because the door was allegedly “ajar,” her key pushed the door open. From the doorway, she reportedly saw Jean as a “shadow,” and thinking him to be a burglar, she allegedly yelled out verbal commands that she said he did not comply with before drawing her service weapon and firing twice. Jean was struck in the torso and died from the gunshot wound. Advertisement Guyger presumably had some training to get into the job she had. There are key things she missed just on an observational level that could have prevented Botham Jean’s death. The red doormat. Furniture presumably in positions they would not be in had she been in her own apartment. Shadows—which she claimed Jean was—would have looked different as well. Why didn’t she notice any of this? The timing of Guyger’s termination is a bit odd, considering just last week, Chief Hall said she did not want to fire Guyger because it could interfere with the criminal investigation into Jean’s shooting death. Advertisement In a statement released Thursday, Hall said: “As an employer, DPD can compel Officer Guyger to provide a statement during a DPD administrative investigation and those statements given to DPD could potentially compromise the criminal investigation.” Four days later, Guyger has been fired, but the criminal investigation is not yet complete. How will her termination impact the criminal investigation? Advertisement Is her termination meant as a pacification for the masses calling for justice? Again, justice means more than Guyger losing her job. We need a conviction, and we need her to serve time for what she has done. This should not be swept under the rug. Advertisement Botham Jean deserves better.<doc-sep>Apartment staff notified residents in an email Sunday morning that Guyger "has vacated her apartment and no longer resides at our community." Dallas police officer Amber Guyger has moved out of the South Side Flats apartments, where she fatally shot her upstairs neighbor, Botham Jean, earlier this month. Apartment staff notified residents in an email Sunday morning that Guyger "has vacated her apartment and no longer resides at our community." Guyger, 30, was charged with manslaughter in Jean's shooting death, which happened the night of Sept. 6. Guyger – who lived in the unit below Jean and had just gotten off duty when the shooting happened – told investigators that she mistook Jean's apartment for her own after parking on the wrong floor in the parking garage, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. When she opened the door to Jean's apartment, she thought he was a burglar, the affidavit said. Guyger remains on administrative leave from the police department. Here's a timeline of how the case unfolded the week following the shooting: Jean supporters protested in downtown Dallas on Friday night, upset at police and media over the details of a search warrant that were released on Thursday, the day of Jean's funeral. Police seized a two bullet casings, a police backpack and vest and 10.4 grams of marijuana, along with several other items, the warrant said.<doc-sep>(CNN) — A Dallas police officer stands charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a man she mistakenly thought was in her apartment, but a prosecutor would not rule out a more serious charge Monday. “The grand jury will be that entity that will make the final decision in terms of the charge or charges that will come out of this case,” Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson told reporters. “We prepare to present a thorough case to the grand jury of Dallas County, so that the right decision can be made in this case.” How everyday racial profiling hurts everyone Amber Guyger, who is white, was off-duty when she shot Botham Shem Jean, a black man, in his apartment, police said Thursday. Guyger told police she thought she was entering her own apartment not realizing she was on the wrong floor. Upon encountering Jean, she thought her home was being burglarized and opened fire, according to police. Botham, a 26-year-old native of St. Lucia, was unarmed. He died at a hospital. Guyger was released from the Kaufman County Jail on Sunday evening after posting a $300,000 bond. Though Jean’s family stood alongside Johnson at her news conference, they also appeared minutes later at a separate news conference with St. Lucia’s prime minister and three attorneys. There, they told reporters that they felt Johnson and other officials had not been forthcoming with information about Botham Shem Jean’s death. Attorney S. Lee Merritt said the family has not been satisfied with the information coming out of the district attorney’s office. Nor were they pleased it took three days to charge Guyger when, in Merritt’s view, the officer’s admission she shot him was sufficient to merit an arrest on manslaughter charges, he said. “The promise of transparency to this family has been a blank check,” Merritt said. Officer entered the wrong apartment The fatal shooting happened Thursday night at the South Side Flats in Dallas, where both Jean and Guyger lived. Guyger’s apartment is directly beneath Jean’s. 01:31 - Source: CNN What investigators may be looking for Jean was home alone when Guyger, still in uniform after her shift, entered the apartment, Dallas Police Chief Ulysha Renee Hall said Thursday. Guyger parked her vehicle on the fourth floor, entered the building and walked toward what she thought was her apartment, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. The door was slightly ajar as she tried to use her key, which has an electronic chip, to enter. When she was able to open the door, she saw the interior was nearly completely dark, according to the affidavit. She described seeing a large silhouette and, believing there was a burglar in her apartment, drew her firearm. Her verbal commands to Jean were ignored, the affidavit said, and Guyger fired two shots at Jean, striking him once in the torso. Guyger then entered the apartment, called 911 and started administering first aid to Jean. She turned on the lights while on the phone with 911, and when they asked for her address, she realized she was in the wrong apartment. Officers “responded in about four minutes,” Hall said. Guyger told responding officers that she thought she was in her own apartment when she fired her weapon. Both apartments are identical or extremely similar in terms of layout, the affidavit says. Kaufman County Jail/Facebook Amber Guyger faces at least a manslaughter charge in Botham Shem Jean's killing, the DA says. Guyger also involved in a 2017 shooting Guyger, 30, is a four-year veteran of the department, assigned to the Southeast Patrol Division. It wasn’t immediately clear if she had an attorney. Guyger was involved in another shooting incident in May 2017, Dallas police said. 01:14 - Source: KTVT Senator: For some strange reason, door was open In that case, Guyger was attempting to identify a woman in a car when another passenger in the vehicle got out and took her taser. Guyger shot and injured the suspect, according to the department’s statement. The suspect was later charged with taking a weapon from an officer, possession of meth and marijuana, and a parole violation. State law enforcement leading the investigation The investigation into the recent shooting has been handed over to the Texas Rangers, the state law enforcement agency, to “eliminate the appearance of any potential bias,” the police department said in a statement Saturday. “At the very early stages of this investigation – initial indications were that they were what we consider circumstances of an officer-involved shooting,” Hall said. “However, as we continued this investigation it became clear that we were dealing with what appears to be a much different and very unique situation.” Hall said investigators obtained a blood sample from Guyger to test for drugs and alcohol. My statement on tonight’s arrest of Amber Guyger pic.twitter.com/pIfToTpSsN — Mike Rawlings (@Mike_Rawlings) September 10, 2018 Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings thanked the Texas Rangers and praised Hall, who asked the state agency to take over the investigation. “Please continue to pray for the family of Botham Jean tonight and in the weeks and months ahead,” Rawlings said in a statement. Jean remembered as a loving son and brother Guyger’s arrest was announced as Jean’s family and their attorneys say they met with Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson to demand the officer be taken into custody. 01:43 - Source: KTVT Police give details of fatal apartment shooting “We don’t need evidence beyond a reasonable doubt at this point,” Jean family attorney S. Lee Merritt told reporters Sunday. “At this point, we need probable cause of a crime. And the existence of probable cause is painstakingly clear to everyone.” Merritt said attorneys presented prosecutors with a witness, and video evidence, which didn’t capture the shooting, but declined to elaborate. Jean and Guyger did not have any known relationship prior to the shooting, Merritt said. “We’re still dealing in America with black people being killed in some of the most arbitrary ways, driving while black, walking while black and now we have to add living while black,” co-counsel Benjamin Crump said. Jean worked as a risk assurance experienced associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Dallas, according to his LinkedIn page. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Harding University in Arkansas in 2016. Crump said Jean was “living, doing everything that you want a young person to do.” “He had no criminal history. He was an amazing student. He was an amazing citizen. He loved God,” Crump said. Friends and family gathered at a vigil at Jean’s church, the Dallas West Church of Christ on Saturday, CNN affiliate CBS 11 reported. He was remembered by classmates, coworkers and family members as a loving son and brother, a hard worker and a powerful singer who enjoyed helping others. “Botham loved mankind,” Jean’s mother, Allison Jean said to those gathered. “Botham never saw color, never saw race. Botham wanted all of us to unite.” Funeral services for Jean are scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday at the Dallas West Church of Christ. CNN’s Lauren Leslie, Keith Allen, Susannah Cullinane and Ray Sanchez contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
The white cop in Dallas who fatally shot her black neighbor after mistaking his apartment for her own has moved out of the apartment complex, officials said. Staffers at the Southside Flats apartment building — located just blocks away from Dallas police headquarters — told residents in an email Sunday that police officer Amber Guyger “has vacated her apartment and no longer resides at our community,” according to an email obtained by WFAA. Guyger, 30, was still in uniform and had just finished a shift when she fatally shot Botham Shem Jean, 26, who she thought was burglarizing her apartment. The four-year Dallas Police Department veteran has been charged with manslaughter and remains on administrative leave after posting $300,000 bond. “Once again we extend our heartfelt sympathy to the family, friends and neighbors of Botham Jean,” the building’s community manager, Taylor Cooks, told residents in an email. “As you are likely aware, the shooting that occurred at Southside Flats on September 6th is still an ongoing investigation, and we are unable to comment on it at all.” A manager at the complex declined to indicate exactly when Guyger moved out and if she left the premises voluntarily, the Dallas Morning News reports. Police said Guyger, who lived on the third floor, used her key with an electronic chip to enter Jean’s fourth-floor apartment, but his door wasn’t entirely closed, so the force of the officer putting her key inside allowed her to access the residence, according to an arrest warrant affidavit written by the Texas Rangers. Jean, a native of Saint Lucia who worked for Pricewaterhouse Coopers in Dallas, was across the room when Guyger said she saw a “large silhouette” before giving verbal commands that were ignored before firing two shots. Jean, who was struck once in the torso, later died at a hospital. Jean’s relatives later accused police of trying to smear Jean after a police affidavit was released indicating that cops found 10 grams of marijuana in his apartment unit, as well as two bullet casings, a police backpack and a vest. “They immediately began looking to smear him,” attorney Lee Merritt, who is representing Jean’s family, told KDFW. “I think it’s unfortunate that law enforcement began to immediately criminalize the victim — in this case, someone who was clearly the victim, that has absolutely no bearing on the fact that he was shot in his home. I would love to see more information coming out about the warrants executed on the home of the shooter who lived just below him.” Toxicology reports for both Guyger and Jean are still pending, KDFW reports. Hundreds of mourners, meanwhile, paid their final respects on Thursday to Jean, who will be laid to rest in Saint Lucia. “To know Botham was to love Botham,” Pastor Michael Griffin told hundreds of mourners at a church in Richardson, according to the Dallas Morning News. “He was the light in a dark room. Bo made us all better. Bo didn’t see color, he saw love.”