Dallas Cop Shot and Killed Black Man in His Own Home After Mistaking It for Hers

Now the Texas Rangers have stepped in to investigate.

Police car

kali9/Getty

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

The Dallas Police Department is investigating a bizarre shooting in which an off-duty police officer shot and killed a man in his own home after allegedly mistaking it for hers. The officer, identified as Amber Guyger, has been placed on administrative leave.

Guyger, 30, walked into an apartment in downtown Dallas after her shift ended on Thursday and saw Botham Shem Jean, 26. She fired her weapon. She then dialed 911 and Jean was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died.

Guyger has been on the Dallas police force for five years. She was involved in 2017 shooting of a suspect who she said tried to remove her taser during a struggle. On Saturday, during a criminal justice panel with Mayor Mike Rawlings, Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall said that no arrest warrant has been issued for Guyger because the Texas Rangers have asked her department to wait so they can investigate the incident further.

“We are totally committed to getting to the bottom of this situation,” Hall said during the panel, which was livestreamed on Facebook. Hall then explained that the department was going through the process of obtaining a warrant for Guyger’s arrest but turned the investigation over to the Texas Rangers. “We truly want to be transparent,” Hall said. “We have turned this investigation over to ensure total transparency in our operations.”

The Texas Ranger Division is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas.

Dallas is still reeling from the fatal shooting of five police officers in 2016 by a gunman who bought an AK-47 on Facebook and was later killed by a remote control bomb—the first of its kind ever used by law enforcement.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate