Amber Guyger, a white police officer from Dallas, made national news last year for shooting an unarmed black man.
The thirty-three-year-old cop fatally shot her neighbor, Botham Jean. Guyger’s defense was that she believed he was an intruder. The thing was, Mr. Jean didn’t even enter Guyger’s apartment… she entered his. Amber tried to get away with the murder by claiming she had mistakingly entered the wrong apartment, thinking that she was in fact in her home.
The court found holes in her defense. She was found guilty and sentenced to ten years in prison.
However now, one of the key witnesses who testified against Guyger, has been shot dead just days after the guilty verdict. Keep scrolling to read the full story.
Last year, the former Dallas police officer, fatally shot her black neighbor – twenty-six-year-old accountant, Botham Jean, on Sept. 6, 2018, just before 10 p.m.
According to Guyger, she “mistakingly” entered Jean’s apartment, which was located directly above hers, and, upon thinking he was an “intruder” shot him twice in the chest.
The two did not know one another.
During the trial, the defense brought on other tenants from the same apartment complex who testified that they also had parked on a different floor and gone to the wrong unit by mistake.
His friends and family attended the Greenville Avenue Church of Christ to lay him to rest.
Toxicology results presented at trial showed she was not intoxicated during the shooting, with the prosecution arguing that Guyger was at fault for missing “several clues” that she was on the wrong floor and subsequently went to the wrong apartment, including a red doormat that Jean’s apartment had and hers did not.
And it also shed light on issues of police use of force and racial bias, including the fact that is was one in a string of shootings of unarmed black men by white police officers.
According to NBC news: “Prosecutors said Jean was watching television and eating ice cream in his living room when Guyger burst inside, likely scaring him. The trajectory of the bullet showed that he was either getting up from his couch or cowering when Guyger fired her service weapon, they added.”
The former police officer admitted to giving the twenty-six-year-old “minimal life-saving aid, as she “only had one hand free” while she called emergency services, adding that her state of mind was “frantic.”
As per NBC: “Testifying in her own defense last week, Guyger told jurors that she was scared for her life when she entered an apartment that she thought was hers, and the man inside began coming toward her and yelling, “Hey! Hey! Hey!”
“I never wanted to take an innocent person’s life. I’m so sorry,” Guyger said on the stand.
“This is not about hate — it’s about being scared.”
…Which would have carried a lesser sentence of around 2 to twenty years behind bars.
She now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Since Amber was found guilty, text message exchanges have been unearthed that reveal just how racist the officer was.
These first messages are from when Guyger had to work the MLK Day Parade in 2018. Her friend asks when it will be over…
To which Guyger replies: “When MLK is dead… oh wait.”
Continuing the text interaction with her friend whilst working the parade, her friend mentions Guyger adopting her dog. The owner warns that her dog might be racist (?) – I guess, suggesting that she is racist…
To which the “accidental” murderer responds: “It’s okay… I’m the same.”
As you can see below, Guyger’s hatred for black people seemed to be a shared feeling amongst her and her lover, Martin Rivera.
Many Dallas civilians do not feel safe knowing that this racist cop is still out patrolling the streets – and, frankly, I don’t blame them.
“When will it end…”
Updating her boyfriend on how many black officers she was working with certainly doesn’t sound racist… ugh.
You can bet your bottom dollar that the next words that are going to come out of your mouth will be racist.
The jury, which found Guyger guilty of murder on Tuesday, reached a unanimous decision on the sentence after listening to Jean’s and Guyger’s families, friends, and coworkers over 2 days of emotional testimony.
Botham Jean’s neighbor, Joshua Brown, was one of the key witnesses in the trial which saw Guyger imprisoned.
Shockingly, just days after the guilty verdict, Joshua Brown, has been found dead with multiple gunshot wounds, reports TMZ.
Officers reportedly found Joshua on the ground with numerous gunshot wounds at an apartment complex in Turtle Creek.
Although nothing is confirmed at the minute, many believe Brown was shot dead as revenge or retaliation for his testimony against Guyger.
However others are claiming it was a revenge killing for another matter entirely. As of yet, nothing is certain.
Dallas Police Department, who Guyger formerly worked for, are currently investigating.