Dallas Cop Gets 10 Years For Killing Neighbor

AP,

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DALLAS — A white Dallas police officer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for fatally shooting her unarmed, black neighbor in his home.

The jury sentenced Amber Guyger on Wednesday. Guyger was convicted of murder Tuesday in the September 2018 killing of her upstairs neighbor, Botham Jean.

In Texas, a murder sentence can range from five years to life in prison, but the judge also instructed jurors on a so-called sudden passion defense, which carries a range of 2-20 years behind bars.

Guyger was still dressed in her police uniform after a long shift when she shot Jean, a 26-year-old accountant from the Caribbean island nation of St. Lucia. She was fired from the force and charged with murder.

Guyger testified that she mistook Jean’s apartment for her own, which was one floor below, and that she thought he was a burglar in her home.

Original Story (October 1, 2019):

A white former Dallas police officer has been found guilty of murder in the fatal shooting of her unarmed, black neighbor in his apartment.

A jury convicted Amber Guyger Tuesday in the killing of Botham Jean in September 2018.

Guyger was off-duty but still in uniform after a long shift when she shot the 26-year-old accountant from the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia.

At trial, Guyger apologized for killing Jean and said she feared for her life upon finding the door unlocked of what she thought was her apartment.

Guyger’s lawyers called the shooting a “tragic, but innocent” mistake.

Prosecutors questioned how Guyger missed numerous signs that she was at the wrong apartment.

Jean was unarmed and had been eating ice cream before Guyger entered his apartment.