Can a Cop Ever Be Seen As a Criminal? (The Civilized, Fact Focused Version)

The shooting death of 26 year old Botham Shem Jean by Officer Amber Guyger is a study on how police may be incapable of seeing one of their own as a criminal. When the events of Thursday, September 6th were made public, most people were left with more questions than answers. Unfortunately, the public seems to be the only ones openly questioning Officer Guyger’s claims and viewing her actions as criminal. Between her strange, varied accounts of the incident and subsequent kid-glove treatment, there is speculation that Botham Jean’s family may never see proper justice.

Guyger states she mistook Jean’s apartment for her own, even though she lives on a different floor and the unit numbers are clearly marked. Now, those of us who have lived in apartment buildings are aware that they can be cookie-cutter in appearance, but there are certain things which usually clue you in to the fact you are on a different floor from your own. Noises, smells, and the exterior decorations neighbors choose to display—be it a wreath or doormat—differ from floor to floor. One glaring difference between Jean’s apartment and Officer Guyger’s is that he had a bright red doormat in front of his door; it is reported that Guyger has no mat at all in front of hers.

Guyger’s latest claim is that she entered the home with her key, but that the door was slightly ajar. One would think as a trained law enforcement professional, this would have alerted Officer Guyger to assess her surroundings and come to the realization that something was off before she entered the unit. Yet, she opened the door to what she describes as a dark room, perceived the lawful occupant of the unit as a burglar, gave verbal commands, and fired when they were ignored. It was not reported as to whether or not she, as a person sworn to protect and serve, rendered aid to Jean once she turned on the lights and realized she was in his home, not hers.

When Officer Guyger called the emergency response team, they responded to what they thought was an officer involved shooting so, understandably, she was not immediately taken into custody. The Dallas Chief of Police invited the Texas Rangers to run a separate investigation as they worked alongside the DA’s office, seemingly to avoid conflict of interest. However, from this point on, Guyger was not treated the way a suspect who just killed someone is usually treated.

The incident happened on Thursday night around 10 PM. Early reports highlighted how she was “visibly distraught” over the shooting, and there was no word of her being arrested or charged with a crime. On the morning after the shooting, a search warrant was issued to investigate items in the victim’s home, and the DA’s office recently allowed information pertaining to the results of that search to be released to the media, highlighting that a small amount of marijuana was found in Jean’s apartment. Interestingly enough, no warrant has yet been issued to search Guyger’s home or vehicle. Furthermore, Officer Guyger did not have a warrant issued for her arrest until Sunday, September 9th—three days after Botham Jean was killed. She was taken into the Kaufman County Jail, which is a separate county from where the incident occurred, and posted bond hours later. Throughout all this, she remained (and still remains) on administrative leave, meaning she is still gainfully employed by the Dallas Police Department.

Guyger and her story have been handled with what seems to be the assumption of absolute innocence, even though it is irrefutable the bullets that killed Botham Jean were fired by her own hand. On the contrary, Jean is now being presented as a lawbreaker for having marijuana in his domicile, corresponding with the routine occurrence of smear campaigns carried out in the media on people of color killed by law enforcement. No matter the circumstance, no matter the evidence, cops have escaped the label of “murderer”, as though their uniforms were made of a special blend of crime-resistant polyester. They shoot bullets into Black bodies while dodging the bullet of a guilty verdict. This begs the question as to whether or not police can ever be perceived as criminals in this country, especially when the crime they commit is the execution of a person of color.