The former Dallas police officer said that she mistook Mr. Jean’s apartment for her own, and opened fire. On Friday, she was indicted on a murder charge.
A grand jury indicted a former Dallas police officer on Friday in the shooting death of an unarmed, 26-year-old African-American accountant who was watching TV in his apartment, a home that the officer says she mistook as her own.
The indictment in Dallas County charges Amber R. Guyger, 30, with murder for killing Botham Jean in his Dallas apartment one floor above hers on Sept. 6. If convicted, Ms. Guyger could receive five years to life in prison.
Ms. Guyger, a white officer who was returning from her shift but dressed in uniform at the time, said that she mistook Mr. Jean’s apartment for her own, that his door was slightly ajar and that it opened when she tried to unlock it. She thought he was a burglar, she said.
Lawyers for Mr. Jean’s family have said that the door was closed, and that neighbors heard someone banging on the door, demanding to be let in, before the gun was fired. Ms. Guyger fired her service weapon twice, striking Mr. Jean once in the torso, according to court documents.
