The civil trial for former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, who was convicted of murder for shooting and killing Botham Jean in his apartment in 2018, began Monday morning.
Guyger, 36, had just gotten off work and was still in her Dallas police uniform when she headed home to her apartment in the South Side Flats, an apartment building located two blocks from Dallas police headquarters on the street now named after the victim. As Guyger opened the door to what she said she thought was her apartment, she saw a man inside and shot him. Guyger lived one floor below Botham Jean and, at her trial, testified she mistook his apartment for hers and fired in self-defense.
A jury convicted Guyger of murder and sentenced her to 10 years in prison.
Jean's family filed a civil lawsuit against Guyger and the City of Dallas, but the city was later dropped from the suit. The lawsuit alleged that Guyger's use of deadly force was not reasonable or justified, but it does not list any requests for specific damages or compensation.
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Guyger is not expected to be in the courtroom during the three-day hearing.
After serving half of her sentence in a Gatesville prison, Guyger was eligible for parole in October 2024 — on what would have been Jean’s 33rd birthday. Jean’s family, the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, and more than 6,300 people who signed an online petition protested Guyger’s parole, which was ultimately denied.
