Civil trial for former Dallas cop Amber Guyger, a convicted killer, began Monday
.JPG "Fired Dallas police officer Amber Guyger looks toward her attorney before proceedings in her murder trial, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, in Dallas. Guyger is accused of shooting her unarmed neighbor in his Dallas apartment. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP, Pool)")
The civil trial for a former Dallas police officer convicted of killing a man in his own apartment — after mistakenly entering it instead of her own — began Monday morning.
Former officer Amber Guyger was found guilty of killing 26-year-old Botham Jean in 2018 inside his Dallas apartment. Guyger said she thought she was in her apartment and that Jean was an intruder. She was fired after the fatal shooting.
Jean’s family filed a civil suit against Guyger, alleging that she is liable for using excessive force that violated Jean’s constitutional rights and resulted in his death, according to the lawsuit.
“Defendant Guyger, without justification and the need to do so, used excessive force as described above, and killed Jean without legal justification,” the suit states.
Guyger was denied parole last month after serving half of her 10-year sentence in Jean’s death, and will not be eligible again until 2026, according to online records from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
The family is seeking an undisclosed amount of punitive and exemplary damages from Guyger in the case, citing mental anguish and loss of companionship, according to the lawsuit.
