Jury Finds Ex-Cop Guilty Of Fatally Shooting Neighbor

Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger will face a maximum of life in prison after being found guilty of shooting and killing her neighbor Botham Jean in his apartment.

The jury had to decide whether Guyger was reasonable in her use of deadly force to subdue the victim or whether she intentionally killed the victim as the prosecution tried to prove. Jean’s family walked out crying and embracing after Judge Tammy Kemp read the Jury’s decision.

Guyger shot Jean twice in the chest fatally, after mistakenly entering his apartment on Sept. 6, 2018. She had just finished working a thirteen and a half hour shift and was still in uniform. Guyger, who was with the Dallas Police, was fired from the job after the shooting.

"It's a signal that the tide is going to change here," Lee Merritt, an attorney for the Jean family, told reporters outside the court. "Police officers are going to be held accountable for their actions, and we believe this is going to change the policing culture all over the world."

Guyger lived on the third floor, but on that day she parked on the fourth floor and entered Jean’s apartment. Though he lived directly above her apartment, Jean and Guyger didn’t know each other.

Tenants who had similarly parked on the wrong floor and entered the wrong unit testified for the defense. However, the prosecution argued that Guyger had missed many clues that could have made her realize she was on the wrong floor, including a red doormat that Jean had.

Guyger testified in her defense that she mistook Jean for an intruder and was scared for her life. According to her, she commanded to Jean to show his hands, but he came towards her yelling “Hey! Hey! Hey!”

However, according to the trajectory of the bullet, Jean was either getting up from the couch or cowering when Guyger shot him.

The murder trial was much anticipated as it brought forth the issues of the police force and racial bias. Guyger, who is white, was asked by the prosecution if she would have shot Jean if he was not black.

"This is not about hate — it's about being scared," she said on the stand.

"I never wanted to take an innocent person's life. I'm so sorry," she said.

The hearing is set to resume on Wednesday, wherein the jury will decide how to sentence Guyger.