Case against Dallas officer who killed neighbor to go to grand jury

DALLAS (AP) — The case against a white Dallas police officer who shot and killed a black neighbor will be presented to a grand jury, which could decide on more serious charges than manslaughter, the district attorney said Monday as an affidavit provided a fuller description of the officer’s account.

Lawyers for the victim’s family questioned why it took three days for Amber Guyger to be charged and why she was so quick to use deadly force in her encounter with 26-year-old Botham Jean, who lived in the apartment directly above hers. She told authorities she mistook the neighbor’s unit for her own.

An arrest affidavit prepared by a Texas Ranger was released Monday, providing a narrative of what happened. It appeared to be based almost entirely on the officer’s account.

Guyger told investigators that she had just ended a 15-hour shift Thursday when she returned in uniform to the South Side Flats apartment complex. She parked on the fourth floor, instead of the third, where she lived, according to the affidavit, possibly suggesting that she was confused or disoriented.

When she put her key in the apartment door, which was unlocked and slightly ajar, it opened, the affidavit said. Inside, the lights were off, and she saw a figure in the darkness that cast a large silhouette across the room, according to the officer’s account.

The officer told police that she concluded her apartment was being burglarized and gave verbal commands to the figure, which ignored them. She then drew her weapon and fired twice, the affidavit said.

She called 911 and, when asked where she was, returned to the front door to see she was in the wrong unit, according to the affidavit.

Authorities have not released any 911 tapes related to the shooting.

The Dallas County medical examiner’s office said Jean died of a gunshot wound to the chest. His death was ruled a homicide. The officer was arrested Sunday night and booked into jail in neighboring Kaufman County before being released on bond.

Attorneys for Jean’s family said the affidavit contradicts neighbors’ accounts of what happened. One of the lawyers, Benjamin Crump, said the affidavit “is very self-serving.” The other, Lee Merritt, said the document is an attempt to “condone what happened, give her a break.”

Merritt said at a news conference Monday evening that two independent witnesses have told him they heard knocking on the door in the hallway before the shooting.

He said one witness reported hearing a woman’s voice saying, “Let me in! Let me in!” Then they heard gunshots, after which one witness said she heard a man’s voice say, “Oh my God! Why did you do that?”

Merritt said he believes those were Jean’s last words.