Dallas cop gets 10 years in prison for killing her neighbor

A white Dallas police officer was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison for killing her black neighbor in his apartment, which she said she mistook for her own unit one floor below.

News 12 Staff

Oct 2, 2019, 9:59 PM

Updated 1,759 days ago

Share:

DALLAS (AP) - A white Dallas police officer was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison for killing her black neighbor in his apartment, which she said she mistook for her own unit one floor below.

Amber Guyger didn’t appear to show much reaction, at least from the angle of a live camera stream, as the judge read the jury’s sentence. It came a day after the jury convicted her of murder in the September 2018 killing of Botham Jean.

Guyger’s sentence was met with boos and jeers by a crowd gathered outside of the courtroom, with one woman saying, “It’s a slap in the face.”

But there was a very different tenor to the post-verdict scene inside the courtroom, where Jean’s brother, Brandt Jean, was allowed to address Guyger directly from the witness stand.

Brandt Jean said he forgave Guyger and that he thinks his brother would want her to turn herself over to Christ.

“I love you as a person. I don’t wish anything bad on you,” he said to the 31-year-old Guyger, before adding, “I don’t know if this is possible, but can I give her a hug?”

The judge said he could, and Brandt and Guyger both stood up, met in front of the bench and embraced while Guyger sobbed.

As Jean’s family walked out of the courtroom, the group that had been outside began a chant of, “No justice! No peace!” Two young black women hugged each other and cried.

Prosecutors had asked jurors to sentence Guyger to at least 28 years, which is how old Jean would have been if he was still alive.

The jury could have sentenced the former officer to up to life in prison or as little as two years.

The basic facts of the unusual shooting were not in dispute throughout the trial. Guyger, returning from a long shift that night, entered Jean’s fourth-floor apartment and shot him. He had been eating a bowl of ice cream before she fired.

Guyger said she parked on the wrong floor and mistook Jean’s apartment for her own, which was directly below his, and mistook him for a burglar. In the frantic 911 call played repeatedly during the trial, Guyger said "I thought it was my apartment" nearly 20 times. Her lawyers argued that the identical physical appearance of the apartment complex from floor to floor frequently led to tenants going to the wrong apartments.

But prosecutors questioned how Guyger could have missed numerous signs that she was in the wrong place. They also asked why she didn’t call for backup instead of walking into the apartment if she thought she was being burglarized and suggested she was distracted by sexually explicit phone messages she had been exchanging with her police partner, who was also her lover.

The shooting drew widespread attention because of the strange circumstances and because it was one in a string of shootings of unarmed black men by white police officers.

One of the Jean family lawyers hailed the verdict as "a victory for black people in America" after it was handed down Tuesday.

The jury was largely made up of women and people of color.
 


More from News 12
1:52
Hudson Valley doctors warn of listeria dangers following multi-state outbreak

Hudson Valley doctors warn of listeria dangers following multi-state outbreak

2:04
Sunny skies and warm temps for Saturday in the Hudson Valley

Sunny skies and warm temps for Saturday in the Hudson Valley

0:38
Multimillion-dollar transformation on the way for sections of Hudson Valley

Multimillion-dollar transformation on the way for sections of Hudson Valley

0:49
New basketball documentary film 'The Process' has ties to Westchester

New basketball documentary film 'The Process' has ties to Westchester

0:49
Olympic watch party in Pomona cheers on Rockland athletes

Olympic watch party in Pomona cheers on Rockland athletes

0:32
Veteran firefighter who suffered stroke receives warm welcome home

Veteran firefighter who suffered stroke receives warm welcome home

0:17
Yorktown police sergeant celebrates final walkout following 2 decades of service

Yorktown police sergeant celebrates final walkout following 2 decades of service

1:40
Lithium-ion battery fire blamed for closure of Newburgh tailor shop

Lithium-ion battery fire blamed for closure of Newburgh tailor shop

0:52
Slate Hill family of 5 loses home in afternoon blaze

Slate Hill family of 5 loses home in afternoon blaze

0:37
2 people charged in Middletown narcotics; firearms bust

2 people charged in Middletown narcotics; firearms bust

1:30
Motorcycle, van crash in Greenburgh causes serious injuries

Motorcycle, van crash in Greenburgh causes serious injuries

0:56
News 12 probes mystery cloud traced to Orange County & seen throughout tri-state area

News 12 probes mystery cloud traced to Orange County & seen throughout tri-state area

1:02
Hillcrest Fire Department receives 2,000 cans of drinking water, courtesy of Anheuser-Busch

Hillcrest Fire Department receives 2,000 cans of drinking water, courtesy of Anheuser-Busch

1:37
Storm Watch Team Meteorologist Skyler Harman strikes down lightning myths

Storm Watch Team Meteorologist Skyler Harman strikes down lightning myths

2:33
Can swimming become dangerous due to extremely high water surface temperatures?

Can swimming become dangerous due to extremely high water surface temperatures?

0:32
NYC officials: Westchester caseworker’s death ruled a homicide

NYC officials: Westchester caseworker’s death ruled a homicide

0:40
State, federal lawmakers introduce legislation to shorten funding gap for World Trade Center Health Program

State, federal lawmakers introduce legislation to shorten funding gap for World Trade Center Health Program

0:34
Ex Frito-Lay employee files defamation lawsuit against PepsiCo claiming he invented ‘Flamin’ Hot Cheetos

Ex Frito-Lay employee files defamation lawsuit against PepsiCo claiming he invented ‘Flamin’ Hot Cheetos

0:40
Executive orders still in place preventing Rockland County and Orange County hotels from converting into migrant shelters

Executive orders still in place preventing Rockland County and Orange County hotels from converting into migrant shelters

0:34
Finger in salad lawsuit against Chop’t discontinued

Finger in salad lawsuit against Chop’t discontinued