DALLAS — Since Dallas cop Amber Guyger shot and killed 26-year-old Botham Jean in his apartment here Sept. 6 there has been a steady stream of protests. In response, Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall announced Sept. 24 that she had fired Guyger, who also faces charges of manslaughter.
The firing came following a town hall meeting at Paul Quinn College where Hall had claimed that federal and state laws prevented her from firing Guyger. A police news release said Hall fired Guyger for “adverse conduct when she was arrested for manslaughter.”
A statement released by the attorneys for Jean’s family supported the termination. “However, we are committed to seeing through the next steps of the process of a proper murder indictment, conviction and appropriate sentencing,” they said.
There was an outpouring of people in St. Lucia where he was born to pay tribute to Jean at his funeral the day Guyger was fired. An article and photos featured the service in the Sept. 25 Morning News. “We demand justice for Botham. Botham’s life matters,” his uncle Ignatius Jean, Botham’s uncle, said in his eulogy.
Sammie Berry, the minister from the West Dallas Church of Christ where Jean was a member, led everyone in chanting, “Stand up for Botham” as they raised their fists in the air.
“We wish to make it clear that our small size or perceived ranking in global affairs should not lead to false assumptions or conclusions about the strength of our resolve and determination in the fight for justice,” said a press statement by St. Lucia Prime Minister Dr. Ralph E. Gonsalves. “We … call upon the authorities in the State of Texas and elsewhere in the United States of America to work to ensure that justice prevails in this matter.”