A Dallas County jury will decide this week whether former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger is liable for using excessive force in a civil wrongful death trial over her killing of Botham Jean in 2018.
Guyger was convicted of murder in 2019 for shooting and killing her unarmed neighbor in his apartment, believing it was her own after she returned home from a shift.
Botham Jean’s parents Alison and Bertrum Jean and sister Allisa Findley accused Guyger in a federal lawsuit filed the year of his death of using excessive force that resulted in the 26-year-old’s wrongful death and violated his constitutional rights.
“There existed no justification whatsoever for Defendant Guyger’s use of deadly force,” the suit reads. “[Botham] Jean was in his own apartment and was not committing a penal offense. [Botham] Jean was totally unaware of what was transpiring when Officer Guyger fired the deadly shots. [Botham] Jean was not attempting to harm anyone, nor did he appear menacing, threatening, or dangerous in any manner.”
The Jean family is suing for an undisclosed amount of money in damages for the pain and mental anguish Botham Jean suffered before his death as well as his parents’ mental anguish and loss of companionship after the death of their son. Botham Jean’s parents are also asking the jury to conclude Guyger should pay punitive and exemplary damages for their son’s death.
The lawsuit initially included the city of Dallas as a defendant, with Botham Jean’s family accusing the Dallas Police Department of showing a pattern of excessive force among its police force, failing to adequately train Guyger on the use of force and failing to discipline Guyger for a previous shooting incident while she was on the job.
The city was dismissed from the lawsuit last year after U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn ruled the plaintiffs failed to sufficiently prove their claims against the city and DPD.
The murder of Botham Jean, a Black man, by a white police officer sparked protests and uproar over police brutality in Dallas and across the nation. Some were angered by the jury sentencing Guyger to 10 years in prison, a punishment they believed was too lenient.
But Botham Jean's brother Brandt Jean forgave Guyger while he testified on the witness stand and got up to hug her while she cried.
Guyger, who is currently serving her 10-year sentence at a state prison in Gatesville, waived her right to be present at pretrial conferences leading up to the trial, according to court records. She is listed in court records as representing herself in the case.
The Dallas-area Fifth District Court of Appeals upheld Guyger's murder conviction in 2021 after she appealed the jury's decision, arguing there was insufficient evidence to convict her.
Guyger became eligible for parole earlier this year — on what would have been Botham Jean’s 33rd birthday — but was denied parole and won’t be eligible again until 2026.
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