Former Dallas Cop Amber Guyger Indicted for Murder in Botham Jean Shooting

[Garion_55]

Source: https://www.dallasobserver.com

A Dallas County Grand Jury indicted former Dallas Police Department Officer Amber Guyger on murder charges related to her shooting and killing her neighbor, Botham Jean, in early September. Guyger shot Jean in his apartment, believing he was a burglar.

Guyger entered Jean's apartment on Sept. 6 after completing her shift at DPD's Southeast Patrol Division. Shortly afterward, she shot and killed Jean. According to Guyger's arrest warrant affidavit, she lived in Apartment 1378 of the South Side Flats complex near Dallas Police Department headquarters in the Cedars. Jean lived in Apartment 1478, directly above Guyger's.

Defense attorney and former Dallas County prosecutor Pete Schulte told the Observer earlier this week that the grand jury was more likely to indict Guyger for murder than manslaughter, if it indicted her at all, because she intended to shoot Jean.

"If there is an indictment, it will be a murder indictment," Schulte said. "I don't think there's any in-between. At the time the force was used — because that's what we look at in all criminal cases, whether it's a police officer or anybody else — when the force was used, her intent was an act clearly dangerous to human life. She fired a gun in the direction of a person she knew was standing in front of her."

Read more: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-county-grand-jury-indicts-amber-guyger-for-murder-11395826

[Scurrilous]

1. Good news!

[exboyfil]

5. I am not so sure

I think the manslaughter statutes need to be rewritten to allow for cases like this. If the jury buys her story about being confused about the apartment, then she very well might be found not guilty.

This presupposes that she did not go up there for another reason (noise complaint, prior relationship, etc.). If that is the case, then it is definitely murder. Also if she used a passkey to get into the apartment or Jean opened the door for her. Anything that contradicts her original story.

I am curious if there have ever been any mistaken castle doctrine cases in the past.

[Aristus]

9. Nah. It was murder.

What else could it be?

Does anyone really believe that it was: "Hey! What are you doing in my apartment which isn't even on this floor and doesn't look anything like this?" BLAM!

If I were ever, for any reason, to go home to the wrong house, my first instinct would not to be to come out, guns blazing. It would be "Oh SHIT! What am I doing here?" And scram...

[Dave Starsky]

10. Not just the look of the apartment, but the smell.

Have you ever noticed that when you visit anyone's home, the FIRST thing you notice is how it smells different from your own? That different smell hits you as soon as the door opens. It's almost overwhelming.

It's a combination of the different food that's been cooked there, whether they have/don't have pets, whether they smoke or not, the different laundry detergent they use, the different soaps they have in the house, etc.

You are used to your own smell and the smell of your own home. So much so, that you don't even recognize it. Your brain tunes it out as noise. But new smells hit you instantly. The olfactory nerve is the shortest cranial nerve in the body, and there's an evolutionary reason for that.

There is no way that you open the door on someone else's apartment thinking that it's yours and, with the true occupant standing there, not realize instantly that you fucked up.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. Remember - she is white and he was a black "foreigner" in Texas

Meaning that he has everything going against him.

It'll be considered an "overcharge" and exactly what exboyfil said - not guilty for "murder" (which usually requires "intent" ). She'll be acquitted unless they maybe also manage to get manslaughter as another potential charge or they can establish there were some other issues going on between them, as some reports from supposed "witnesses" had suggested.

The statement by that defense attorney -

when the force was used, her intent was an act clearly dangerous to human life. She fired a gun in the direction of a person she knew was standing in front of her."

is complete bullshit. They always "fear for life" as their "get out of jail free" card. The justice system rarely works in the favor of a POC.

[Progressive Jones]

17. Pistols provide courage to cowards... nt

[yardwork]

13. The grand jury decided that it was murder.

[mobeau69]

27. Grand juries don't "decide" guilt.

Thankfully.

[xor]

21. That's my concern with it. I hope it's not some scheme to let her work

because they are purposely overcharging on her on something they cannot absolutely prove. I'm not a lawyer so I am probably concerned over nothing.

[Demsrule86]

33. If a jury buys that shit, they were looking for an excuse...she entered his apartment and

shot him in cold blood...my guess is she freaked out about the noise.

[cstanleytech]

20. It will be good news when she is either convicted by a jury and or pleads guilty. nt

[secondwind]

2. Justice has prevailed... good !

[George II]

8. I'll say that after the trial and a guilty verdict.

[Initech]

3. Lock her up!!!!

[Apollyonus]

4. Good. What a horrible woman

[IronLionZion]

6. They should search her apartment for drugs

since they searched his for no good reason. And give her a drug test. As if having a small amount of marijuana justifies being murdered in your own apartment.

If his family wasn't wealthy and he didn't work for PWC, this story would have likely been forgotten by now. Educated and wealthy dark skinned people can make some racist whites fear for their lives through "economic anxiety".

[xor]

22. I don't mind that they searched his apartment.

At least in the ideal world they were looking for things that could have tied her to him to suggest possible motive. Would the police legally be able to search her apartment because of this? What I don't understand is why they would release that they found a small amount of pot in his apartment. That's just bullsheet.

[IronLionZion]

31. To justify an unjustifiable murder

a small amount of marijuana can excuse the inexcusable

They wanted to turn public opinion against the victim and blame him for his murder

[MicaelS]

7. Excellent. n/t

[Dopers_Greed]

11. Murder is hard to prove

Hope they don't have any MAGAts on the jury

[xor]

23. Looking around the internet where those sorts of people hangout, and I found even they want this cop

locked up for this. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of defense of her in this case. Although, some of that is simply because she's a woman. I haven't checked recently, but back when this first happened there seemed to have mostly universal disgust over it.

But who knows how it will play out if her defense lawyer is able to scratch certain parts of their reptilian-like brains.

[iluvtennis]

14. Good news. Now for the guilty verdict so she can be locked up.

[rocktivity]

15. Works for me: She was heard yelling, "Let me in."

She was NOT heard yelling, "This is the police -- open up!" Who was she talking to if someone was supposed to be in her apartment, and if that person let her in, why did she shoot?


rocktivity

[TexasBushwhacker]

35. I want to know why she had her gun out in the first place

I want to know if she had some kind of relationship with the deceased. There are so many things about her story that just don't add up.

[dlk]

16. Make Next Mistake - It was an Execution

[Devil Child]

18. Justice for Botham Jean!

This was an execution of a black man in his own home. If there is no conviction this gives yet another green light for those with badges to murder freely.

[ret5hd]

19. Such an endearing family pic of the perp:

[TexasBushwhacker]

24. The Okay hand sign is popular with white supremacists n/t

[7wo7rees]

32. That's not OK

That's WP

[Demonaut]

25. a setup for acquittal

[Sneederbunk]

28. Especially if she testifies. We have not heard her own words.

[Blue_Tires]

29. Took 'em long enough...

damn...

[malthaussen]

34. Indictment is good.

Let's see if the jury lets her off.

-- Mal