DALLAS — A Dallas County jury ordered former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger to pay $98.65 million for the 2018 murder of Botham Jean in a federal civil case.
Guyger shot and killed Jean at his Dallas apartment in 2018. She was convicted of his murder and is serving a 10-year prison sentence. She testified in her trial in 2019 that she mistook Jean for an intruder in her apartment. She lived in an apartment above Jean and, she testified in her 2019 trial, mistook Jean’s apartment for hers and was able to get in because of a malfunctioning door lock.
Jean’s family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court in 2018. The city of Dallas was initially named as a defendant in the lawsuit, which alleged that the city inadequately trained Guyger, but the city was later dismissed as a defendant.
Jean’s family and attorneys said they feel “justice was served” after the verdict was announced.
Watch the full press conference with Jean’s family and their attorneys here:
“I am still heartbroken over the loss of my son,” Jean’s father, Bertram, said Wednesday. “But today…justice was served and we are very thankful, and we pray it will be a lesson for the authorities.
“The verdict today symbolizes what the jurors saw as the value that Botham brought to this world,” Botham’s mother, Allison, added. “I cannot feel it in monetary terms because I know how precious he was to me, but it sends a signal to the world that his life mattered.”
“This verdict tells us that his light still shines down on us in America, and in St. Lucia, and all over the world,” Attorney Ben Crump said.
Originally, Guyger was representing herself in the civil case, but she opted not to appear in the civil trial or have an attorney present.
The civil trial comes after the parole board recently rejected Guyger’s request to be released on parole.
The Botham Jean Act, requiring officers to wear body cameras and keep them turned on for the duration of any active investigations involving them, became law in 2021.