Lead investigator doesn’t believe Amber Guyger’s killing of Botham Jean was a crime
Based on the evidence and his training and experience, Texas Department of Public Safety trooper David Armstrong says he never would have arrested Amber Guyger.
But State District Judge Tammy Kemp said Armstrong could not testify to his opinion before the jury in the former Dallas police officer’s murder trial.
“Based on the totality of the circumstances, based on the totality of the investigation, I don’t believe there was a crime,” Armstrong, the lead investigator on the case, said Wednesday outside the presence of the jury.
Guyger, 31, was fired from the Dallas Police Department and charged with the murder of her neighbor Botham Jean, 26. Guyger told authorities that she believed Jean was an intruder inside her apartment on Sept. 6, 2018. Guyger soon realized that she shot Jean in his own apartment, where he had been sitting in his living room, eating ice cream and watching football on television.
Armstrong was asked to describe the crime scene and details of his part of the investigation.
He said that based on measurements from other investigators and his own observations, he believes Jean was shot inside his apartment approximately 13 to 15 feet from his doorway.
Armstrong said it was reasonable for Guyger to perceive Jean as a threat and an intruder. Armstrong also said that he does not believe Guyger was reckless in her behavior.
While being questioned by Guyger’s defense attorney, Armstrong said Guyger’s situation was different, for example, than being dispatched to a burglary call, where an officer can begin to assess the situation before arriving on the scene.
She did not have the luxury of being able to seek cover or calling for backup, Armstrong said while responding to a question. When asked to describe what happens in a potentially life-threatening moment, Armstrong said: “Your heart rate goes high, your vision narrows, which is sometimes referred to as tunnel vision.
“You begin to concentrate on what you believe the threat is. Your body says I need to do this right now — either flight or fight.”
Armstrong told the attorney his comments were based on his personal experience and information that he has gained from interviewing other officers who have been in those types of life-and-death situations.
Armstrong made these comments during a special hearing before the judge to determine the appropriateness of allowing the jury to hear his expert opinion. Kemp ruled that Armstrong’s opinions on whether Guyger committed a crime or where Jean was shot would not be allowed into testimony.
The jury was not in the room when Armstrong made these remarks.
Details of the investigation
While the jury was listening, Armstrong said Jean lived in apartment 1478, while Guyger lived on the floor directly below in apartment 1378. Jean’s body was found in his apartment’s living room near the kitchen counter as evidenced by blood stains and his house shoes, according to Armstrong.
The strike plate on Jean’s door was bowed out and did not latch properly, Armstrong said. The jury saw video that showed the door unlocked.
“We opened the door from different distances,” Armstrong said. “Sometimes the door would close all the way, sometimes not, depending on distance.”
Senior Cpl. Dale Richardson testified that he was told during the investigation that Guyger’s set of keys were found dangling from Jean’s door. He said that when tested, Guyger’s key made a light on the lock blink red and it would not operate, while Jean’s key made the lock blink green and make a whirring sound that indicated it was operating.
Guyger’s defense has said she was able to enter the apartment because the door wasn’t locked.
A witness also told the jury that a toxicology test showed that Guyger had no alcohol or illegal or debilitating drugs in her system.
During his opening statements Monday, Guyger’s attorney Robert Rogers said Guyger did not look down and see Jean’s red floor mat outside the door before entering his apartment. Residents at the Southside Flats park on the same floor as their apartments. That day, after returning from her shift with the Dallas Police Department, Guyger parked on the wrong floor and thought Jean’s apartment was hers, according to testimony.
Jurors on Tuesday watched body camera footage from Officer Michael Lee, who was among the first responders to the shooting. Guyger looks panicked when she appears briefly in Lee’s footage. In it, Guyger says, “I thought it was my apartment. I thought it was my apartment,” as Lee moves past her and puts on a pair of gloves.
Lee testified that despite officers’ efforts, Jean didn’t open his eyes or otherwise communicate with first responders.
One witness testified that after the shooting, she turned off the patrol car video camera while Guyger was sitting in the vehicle. Video of whatever she did while sitting alone in the car was not available to investigators.
Prosecutors said there is no evidence that Jean ever posed a threat to Guyger. The defense argues she believed she was in danger.
When she was questioned Wednesday about whether there were any weapons in Jean’s vicinity, Dallas Police Department Crime Scene Analyst Robyn Carr testified that there were none.
Testimony, timeline don’t show that Guyger gave first aid
Prosecution witnesses and a timeline of events prepared by a data analyst suggest that Guyger was on the phone instead of helping the man she just shot.
Video captured by Dallas police officer body cameras shows first responders rushing into Jean’s apartment and beginning CPR to try to revive him.
A timeline compiled by reviewing digital evidence by data analyst Christin Nobel shows that at 10:05:26 p.m. on Sept. 6, 2018, the first persons who administered first aid techniques to Jean were two first responders from the Dallas Police Department. Before 10:05 p.m., no delivery of CPR is mentioned on the timeline.
Seconds before police begin administering first aid, at 10:05:08, the timeline indicates that Guyger left Jean’s apartment. Several witnesses who identified themselves as Jean’s neighbors testified that they saw Guyger pacing the hallways of Southside Flats just shortly after they heard two gunshots.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit on an earlier manslaughter charge, Guyger said she did render first aid to Jean.
“I looked out of the peephole and saw her (Amber Guyger) on the phone,” said Whitney Hughes, Jean’s neighbor. “I saw her in her uniform and assumed the cops were already there. She sounded upset.”
When asked why she believed that Guyger sounded upset, Hughes said it sounded as though she were crying. As other police officers and paramedics arrived, Hughes said, she could see them walk past her door as she looked through her peephole.
Hughes testified that one woman police officer said to another officer: “Stay with her. She’s involved.”
Testimony in the Guyger murder trial is expected to resume Thursday morning.
Partial Recreation of Timeline from Dallas District Attorney’s Office
Sept. 6, 2018
9:59 p.m. to 10:04:46 p.m.— Guyger calls 911.
10:01:18 p.m. — Dallas police officer arrives.
10:02:06 — Dallas police officer arrives.
10:02:25 p.m. Guyger texts Martin Rivera, her partner and former lover, according to testimony. The text says: “I need you ... hurry.”
10:03:03 p.m. — Guyger text Rivera — The text says: “I (expletive) up.”
10:04:47 p.m. — Two Dallas police officers enter Jean’s apartment.
10:05:08 — Guyger leaves Jean’s apartment.
10:05:26 — Dallas police officers begin CPR on Jean.
10:12:03 p.m. — Dallas Fire Rescue personnel leave apartment with Jean.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 25, 2019 at 10:32 AM.
