Texas cop fired for ‘adverse conduct’ in wrong apartment shooting

Chicago (AFP) – A white Texas cop who shot dead a black man in his own apartment, allegedly mistaking it for her own, was fired Monday for “adverse conduct,” the Dallas Police Department said.

Police Chief U. Renee Hall terminated officer Amber Guyger’s employment during in administrative hearing. 

Guyger is charged with manslaughter for killing Botham Shem Jean, an immigrant from the Caribbean nation of Saint Lucia. 

“An Internal Affairs investigation concluded that… (Guyger) engaged in adverse conduct when she was arrested for manslaughter,” the department said. 

“Officer Guyger was terminated for her actions.”

Guyger told investigators she mistakenly walked into the 26-year-old’s apartment, one floor above her own, when she returned home from work on the evening of September 9. 

She fired two shots after seeing a silhouette of a figure who didn’t respond to verbal commands, police said. 

The shooting sparked protests, quickly becoming embroiled in the politics of police brutality controversies in the United States.  

Criticism swirled over investigators’  handling of the case and the several days it took to arrest and charge Guyger. 

There also has been criticism of media reports that police had found marijuana in Jean’s apartment. 

“We are dismayed by the despicable attempts by some to smear the character of Botham Shem Jean,” the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States said in a Monday statement.

“It is an undeniable fact that Botham Shem Jean was shot and killed while in the sanctity and comfort of his own home,” the organization said. 

Jean emigrated from Saint Lucia to attend a private Christian college in Arkansas. He had been working at the accounting firm PwC, also known as PricewaterhouseCoopers, in Dallas. 

Guyger, who could face additional charges depending on the outcome of a criminal investigation, has the right to appeal her firing, police said.