TX - Botham Shem Jean, 26, killed when police officer entered wrong apartment, Dallas, Sept 2018

[jjenny]

Burglary is not a capital offense the last I heard. If you think there is a burglar in your apartment you leave and call for help. You don’t start shooting!

For example...I came home from picking our daughter up at school one afternoon years ago, and when I walked in the door to our house, which was in the middle of 10 acres of forest, I could tell instantly that stuff was missing. I didn’t know if the burglar was still there. I grabbed my 6 year old daughter, ran out the door, got back in the car and gunned it down our long driveway...out of harm’s way. It turned out that all three of them were gone, but even if they had still been there and I’d seen them and had a gun, shooting would not enter my mind unless there was a clear threat to our lives. Since when are possessions worth more than a human life, even a criminal’s? Not in my world.

You don't have to leave in TX, because of stand your ground laws. If burglar is in your house, you can shoot him in TX and not be charged.

 

[jjenny]

No kidding! And police have really bright flashlights. Why wouldn't she shine her flashlight in the apt from the doorway and say "Is anyone in here?" Or back out into the hallway and call 911. Maybe if she had turned on her flashlight, she would have seen that she was in the wrong apt.(Then again, maybe not since she didn't see the screaming red door mat).

Everything she did defies the common sense of an ordinary person---and she was a cop.

She didn't need flashlight, she could have turned the light on.

 

[jjenny]

Apparently the killer states the door was ajar. This is a new story. Before, she said she was having a hard time opening the door, and Mr. Jean heard her, opened the door, and she shot him.

No, she doesn't state the door was ajar. Door was unlocked, not ajar. We don't know what she said before either. That story was floating around, but not clear who the source of that story is.

 

[Blunomore]

I wonder what the new evidence is that they have from witnesses.

 

[Jennifer17]

I don't get this. Now her story has changed from he opened the door in his underwear after she was trying to open his door to now his door was open and he was in there in the dark? What sense does that make? His door was open. He was was walking around in the dark?

 

[Jennifer17]

No, she doesn't state the door was ajar. Door was unlocked, not ajar. We don't know what she said before either. That story was floating around, but not clear who the source of that story is.

She seems to have given several stories.

 

[jjenny]

I don't get this. Now her story has changed from he opened the door in his underwear after she was trying to open his door to now his door was open and he was in there in the dark? What sense does that make? His door was open. He was was walking around in the dark?

You don't know what her story was to claim that it changed. Who is the source of the story that he opened the door in his underwear? It might not be her. Lots of stories floating around.
As for him walking in his apartment, it was his apartment, he was likely getting ready to go to bed. So he could have turned the light off.

 

[jjenny]

Maybe she was not the one who called 911, maybe it a neighbor of Botham’s that had never seen her before and thought she was a security guard....

911 calls are recorded, so it wouldn't make any sense to claim she called 911 if she didn't.

 

[Blunomore]

I am not sure why different versions are being ascribed to her. Has she given a statement that we have knowledge of? Or are these rumours or even leaks from LE?

 

[Jennifer17]

You don't know what her story was to claim that it changed. Who is the source of the story that he opened the door in his underwear? It might not be her. Lots of stories floating around.
As for him walking in his apartment, it was his apartment, he was likely getting ready to go to bed. So he could have turned the light off.

 

[jjenny]

I am not sure why different versions are being ascribed to her. Has she given a statement that we have knowledge of? Or are these rumours or even leaks from LE?

There were some other versions circulating but it's not clear who/what the source of those versions is. So they shouldn't be ascribed to her.

 

[MaryG12]

You don't have to leave in TX, because of stand your ground laws. If burglar is in your house, you can shoot him in TX and not be charged.

MOO but Guyger should be charged with property break in

 

[Rocco]

She didn't need flashlight, she could have turned the light on.

Turning the lights on would have involved her stepping into the apt or at a minimum reaching into the apt. It would have been better to push the door open with her foot, step back to put distance between her and the apt, and shining her flashlight in there while asking if anyone was in there. MOO

 

[SuzDuJour]

How are you part of an elite “high risk” arrest team, but you shoot first and ask questions later? I do not understand how she didn’t announce herself as a cop and tell him to put his hands where she could see them instead of just shooting. We are obviously missing a lot of details.

 

[jjenny]

How are you part of an elite “high risk” arrest team, but you shoot first and ask questions later? I do not understand how she didn’t announce herself as a cop and tell him to put his hands where she could see them instead of just shooting. We are obviously missing a lot of details.

The thing is, if she were in her own apartment, in TX, you don't have to ask. TX has stand your ground law, so if somebody intrudes in your home, you can shoot them and you won't be arrested.

 

[jjenny]

Turning the lights on would have involved her stepping into the apt or at a minimum reaching into the apt. It would have been better to push the door open with her foot, step back to put distance between her and the apt, and shining her flashlight in there while asking if anyone was in there. MOO

Would have been better if she didn't go into the apartment that wasn't hers, but that's neither here nor there.

 

[Rocco]

The thing is, if she were in her own apartment, in TX, you don't have to ask. TX has stand your ground law, so if somebody intrudes in your home, you can shoot them and you won't be arrested.

You might not HAVE to ask but it's a better option than killing someone right off the bat.

 

[Thora_Jay]

911 calls are recorded, so it wouldn't make any sense to claim she called 911 if she didn't.

I should have written that post better but I had just arrived to work so I had to hurry. I should have said maybe the Officer Guyger was not the first one to call maybe a neighbor did. Officer Guyger could have been on the phone with someone else or doing whatever, who knows. I am just saying that maybe she did not call 911 right off someone else did first.

 

[Rocco]

Would have been better if she didn't go into the apartment that wasn't hers, but that's neither here nor there.

It's neither here nor there but that's not what your post was about that I responded to. It was about stepping in or reaching in to turn on the lights.

 

[jjenny]

So she probably is going to be using a "mistake of fact" defense.
"According to the Texas Penal Code, a defendant is allowed to use the defense if the mistake forms a reasonable belief that negates the culpable mental state required to obtain a conviction."
Was the Dallas Cop Who Killed Her Neighbor Given Special Treatment? Not Necessarily.