White officer who killed black Christian accountant could face more serious charges

EEW Magazine News // Associated Press

The 30-year-old white Dallas police officer who shot and killed a black Christian accountant in his home has been charged with manslaughter.

According to the Associated Press, she will be presented to a grand jury, which could decide on more serious charges than manslaughter, the district attorney overseeing the case said Monday.

Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson said her office will first collect evidence surrounding Thursday’s fatal shooting by officer Amber Guyger, who told authorities that she had mistaken the neighbor’s apartment for her own.

But Allison Jean, the mother of 26-year-old Botham Jean, the victim, said that doesn’t make any sense.

Allison Jean, mother of deceased Botham Shem Jean (Photo Credit: NBC Dallas KXAS.

“If you walk onto the wrong floor that’s understandable. [If] you try a key in the door and it doesn’t work, that should nudge you to check the apartment number, unless you’re insane, unless you’re drunk,” said the broken-hearted mother in footage broadcast by Dallas' NBC affiliate, KXAS.

“Then the door flies open,” she continued, making the point that, “A burglar never opens the door. Why would a burglar open the door? Doesn’t make sense.”

Jean also wondered whether race was a factor when the officer shot and killed her son after she returned home in uniform from her shift on Thursday night.

"I didn't know she was white until now. If it was a white man would it have been different? Would she have reacted differently?"

Botham Jean

The officer was arrested Sunday night and booked into jail in neighboring Kaufman County before being released on bond.

Lawyers for the victim’s family questioned why it took three days for Guyger to be charged. One said the officer should have been in handcuffs the night of the shooting, instead of three days later. They also wondered why, based on news reports, Guyger was so quick to use deadly force against Botham Jean.

"My son loved everybody. He loved God," said Jean.

Watch her interview below.

A fundraiser in Botham Jean's memory has been set up through GoFund Me. To donate, click here.