On September 6th, 2018 in Dallas,TX, Police officer Amber Guyger allegedly thought she was entering her own apartment when she shot, and killed Botham Jean in his apartment. Guyger stated that she tried to enter her keys in the door knob, and they didn’t work. Soon after a man (Botham Jean) then opened the apartment door. She claims she thought he was an intruder. A few days later Guyger’s story changed. Her new story states that the apartment door was slightly ajar and that she saw Botham’s silhouette from across the room when she entered the apartment. Allegedly she gave him orders and he didn’t follow them therefore she shot him. Most people know what their home looks like, and usually apartments have numbers on the door that’s assigned to the resident. How is it that Amber Guyger is unaware of what the inside of her home looks like or where she lives?
IT’S IMPORTANT TO KNOW
When the incident happen it was announced that Guyger would be charged with Manslaughter, never Murder. Which, in my opinion means they were ruling it as an accident without proper investigation. The affidavit for Guyger’s arrest and the search warrant for Botham Jean’s apartment contradict one another. The search warrant reflects Guyger’s first story and the affidavit reflects Guyger’s second story. The affidavit and the search warrant were written one day apart, and signed by the judge. It’s important to know that there are witnesses involved in this case. Two witnesses to be exact. Both witnesses stated that they heard banging at the door and a woman shouting to let her in the apartment. After the banging on the door stopped the next sound they heard were 2 gunshots. How are either legal documents the affidavit or the search warrant valid when they state totally different circumstances?
THE CRIMINALIZATION
During the search of Jean’s home there was a small amount of marijuana found. This information was broadcasted almost immediately, and appeared on the news station Fox 4 the same day as Botham Jean’s funeral. The lengths that the media and officers will go to in an attempt to criminalize another lifeless Black body is appalling. Particularly when the enforcers violent reaction has caused the death of a person seemingly for no valid reason. Mentioning marijuana being in his apartment is an attempt to assassinate Botham’s character. It’s a media tactic to make him appear less innocent. We live in a society where it’s okay to not hold officers of the law accountable for their deadly mistakes.
Black people are never allowed to be victims, we are criminalized even in our deaths. Our lifeless bodies are always investigated, and put on trial. An excuse or pass is always given to the person that actually committed the crime. The narratives that imply Black people are “bad,” and always guilty has to stop. It’s dangerous to perpetuate such nonsense, and pass it off as truth.
We see police officers manage to not shoot and kill or even injure White criminals and civilians when they have weapons and are dead wrong on many levels. Black people are advised to develop the “yes sir no sir,” approach when dealing with police officers.
Black people are not safe walking to the store, playing music loudly at a gas station, standing outside of a store attempting to sell merchandise, being stranded and needing help on the highway, running in the opposite direction of the police, walking up the stairwell in an attempt to get to his or her dwelling place, play in a park, pick up an item out of Walmart, and now we aren’t safe in the comfort of our own homes.
It doesn’t sound like Black people are the problem or the ones that are dangerous. Instead we’re in danger simply because we exist…