Who is Amber Guyger? How 911 tape turned Botham Jean's killer from 'racist' to damsel in distress before trial
DALLAS, TEXAS: Even after she was convicted last year of murdering Botham Shem Jean after mistaking his apartment for hers and thinking he was a burglar, the nation remains divided over whether former Dallas police officer, Amber Guyger was guilty of intentionally killing a Black man.
The story of Jean and Guyger was revisited in Investigation Discovery's 'The Ballad of Botham Jean' in season two of 'Impact Of Murder,' which premiered on September 10, from 9-11 p.m. EDT/PDT.
Who was Amber Guyger?
Guyger who had served on the Dallas police force for four years, returned home from work on September 6, 2018, parked her car and went to her apartment which was a floor above Jean. However, she somehow ended up mistaking Jean's apartment for hers. Although every apartment had a different lock, Guyger somehow managed to gain access to the victim's apartment using her key. When she thought a stranger was inside 'her' apartment, Guyger instinctively drew her firearm and fired two shots, one of them straight through Jean's heart, killing him on the spot. Meanwhile, Jean, who was a businessman and the beloved son of prominent Saint Lucian parents, was eating a bowl of ice cream and watching football on his television in his apartment when he was killed.
The person to report the incident was Guyger herself who dialed 911 and called for an ambulance as well as a response team. When the response team got to the building, their bodycam footage suggested that they did everything possible to save Jean's life but were unable to do so. Meanwhile, a dazed and panicked-looking Guyger kept on repeating “I thought it was my apartment” over and over again. In another video shot by a bystander from the ground, which later went viral on social media, a female officer who looked like Guyer could be seen pacing near Jean's apartment and talking to someone on the phone while the paramedics tried to save the victim's life inside. The contrasting footages painted a confusing picture of Guyger - one of a desperate and helpless woman who had made a mistake on one hand and another of an officer who was more concerned about saving herself from bein prosecuted than caring whether Jean lives or dies.
While the police department refused to release her name initially, she was arrested by Texas Police Ranger on manslaughter charges three days after the incident and later released on bond. Guyger also changed her story when she gave her statement to the police. Instead of stressing on the fact that she had made a huge blunder by mistaking the victim's apartment for her own, she claimed that she resorted to using deadly force because Jean ''was coming for me and I feared for my life.” Finally, following weeks of Black Lives Matter protests in the state, Guyger was indicted on a murder charge on November 30, in a grand jury hearing.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram journalist Nichole Manna, who has extensively covered the case back then, said in the documentary that people were very interested in finding out about Guyger after she was arrested for murder. However, not much information about her personal life was available as the disgraced officer had deleted all of her social media pages following the incident. However, her Pinterest account was still up and she made comments and liked posts that proved that she had no value for human life and suggested she was a racist.
The 911 Tape
As Jean's family prepared themselves for a difficult trial against Guyger, the general narrative surrounding the case did not favor the murder suspect. However, there was one key piece of evidence that had not been made public - the recording of the 911 call made by Guyger on the night of the incident. The police department never released the 911 call because they argued that it would interfere with the nature of the trial. Manna said they filed requests to get copies of the tapes but were denied. Finally, an ABC News-affiliated local police station got copies of the tape and they released it.
''It was released anonymously but because of the quality, it was clear that it was released from within the department. It knocked the wind out of me and more so, it knocked the wind out of the family,'' Jean family lawyer, Lee Merritt, said in the documentary.
In the 911 tape, Guyger could be heard panicking following the shooting, even seemingly regretting using deadly force on the victim. "I am an off-duty officer. I thought I was in my apartment,'' Guyger is heard saying in the tape. ''And I shot a guy thinking that he was... thinking it was my apartment... I am f****d, oh my god, I am sorry. I didn't mean to. I am so sorry.'' In the call, she was heard continuously trying to revive Jean, saying ''Hey, come on man,'' and "Come on, bud.''
Manna said that the details of the call transformed the image of Guyger from a brutal police officer to a damsel in distress as it seemed like she really believed it was her apartment.
However, the call was perceived by Jean's family differently. Jean’s’ sister, Allisa Charles-Findley, said that she played the call over and over because she thought that she could hear her brother's last breaths which "wrecked" her.
Jean's mother, Allison Jean, said about the tape, "It's very hard to listen to. But that call angered me because what I heard was someone who is all about herself. I didn't hear whether he is conscious. Are you applying pressure on the wound? Are you giving him CPR? Nothing that suggests that there was any concern for my son."
Allison was referring to the fact that when the emergency dispatcher told Guyger that help was on the way, she replied, "I know but I am going to lose my job." Last year, Guyger was found guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the murder of Jean.