Dallas Police Fire Officer Who Shot Man in His Home

The Dallas, Texas, police officer who shot and killed a neighbor after accidentally entering his apartment has been dismissed from the force.

Officer Amber Renee Guyger, 30, was terminated after a hearing on Monday, Sept.24, which examined Guyger’s shooting of her neighbor, 26-year-old Botham Jean.

Dallas police officer Amber Renee Guyger, accused of shooting her neighbor Botham Jean inside his own apartment on Sept. 6, 2018. Kaufman County Sheriff's Office via AP, File

Dallas Police Chief U. Reneé Hall announced the termination in a statement posted on Twitter after the hearing.

The statement said that Guyger had been fired for engaging in “adverse conduct” when she was arrested on manslaughter charges.

In the next line the statement said, “Officer Guyger was terminated for her actions.”

An article on the Dallas Police Department blog DPD Beat says,  “An Internal Affairs investigation concluded that on September 9, 2018, Officer Guyger, #10702, engaged in adverse conduct when she was arrested for manslaughter.”

Botham Jean leading worship at a Harding University presidential reception in Dallas on Sept. 21, 2017. Jeff Montgomery/Harding University via AP

This statement specifies that Guyger was fired for her behavior while being arrested, not for her actions on the night of the shooting. At a press conference posted on the DPD Facebook page, Hall said that she had not terminated Guyger until Sept. 24 because she wanted to let the investigation progress without being compromised.

Statements made during a civil service termination review could impact the investigation, Hall told the press, so Guyger was not immediately terminated.

The critical portion of the investigation had passed, Hall explained, though the investigation was ongoing, so the DPD Internal Affairs department and Hall were free to hold a termination hearing.

The statement noted that now-former Officer Guyger has the right to appeal her termination.

Manslaughter

Officer Amber Renee Guyger was coming home from a 15-hour shift to her apartment on the third floor of the South Side Flats apartment building on Sept. 6 when, she claimed, she found the door to her apartment unlocked and ajar, Fox News reported.

Guyger was still wearing her uniform and all her police gear, including her service pistol.

Guyger claimed that the apartment was dark and that she saw the figure of a man in the darkness. She stated that she gave several verbal commands to the individual, then drew her weapon and shot the man twice. Guyger then called 911.

The officer was in tears as she spoke to the 911 operator.

Jean, 26, was transported to the hospital where he died.

Botham Jean at Harding University in Searcy, Ark., on March 24, 2014. Jeff Montgomery/Harding University via AP, File

According to Guyger, she did not realize she was in the wrong apartment until she called 911. Guyger was on the fourth floor, while her apartment is on the third floor.

The Dallas News reported that all four floors of the building look the same. However, a law enforcement official told the News that Jean had a red doormat in front of his door, while Guyger’s apartment had no such mat.

At a press conference on Sept. 7, also posted on Facebook, Hall said that Guyger had given a blood sample, which would be tested for drugs and alcohol.

Jean, a native of the Caribbean island nation of St. Lucia, was a 2016 graduate of Harding University in Arkansas and was interning at PricewaterhouseCoopers at the time of his death.

Jean was active in campus affairs, leading a men’s social club and interning at the campus ministry of the Christian-faith-based college.

From NTD.tv