UPDATE: On September 24th, 2018 Amber Guyger was fired from Dallas Police Department for killing Botham Shem Jean. This is a huge victory, however, it took too long to come. The way the city of Dallas has handled this is unacceptable, and our fight is far from over.

Amber Guyger, a white female officer, killed Botham Shem Jean in his own apartment in Dallas and her story isn't adding up. Apparently, she thought she had entered her own apartment when she killed him. But so many questions remain unanswered: How do you mistake someone else's apartment for your own? Was she drunk or on drugs? How did she get into the apartment? Did she know Botham personally? And making it even more unbelievable, the officer's story keeps changing. At first, she said that the door to Botham's apartment was locked. Now she's telling investigators that she yelled at Botham to show his hands after she walked into HIS apartment. However, the attorney representing Botham's family has received witness accounts from neighbors saying that they heard "knocking down the hallway followed by a woman's voice that they believe to be officer Guyger saying, 'Let me in. Let me in.'" So many questions remain unanswered and Amber Guyger is only getting more time to re-work her story. We need answers and transparency now. 

When police kill Black people they almost always get away with it and are protected under the "blue code of silence." And this is no different. Any other person, especially if they were Black, would have been arrested immediately and charged with home invasion and murder. But the Dallas Police Department gave Guyger THREE days to craft her story before she was arrested or even publicly identified. She was released immediately after her arrest on manslaughter charges. She's free. And she's still on Dallas Police Department payroll.

Dallas District Attorney, Faith Johnson, is in charge of this case and has the power to make the final decision on the charges that Amber will face for killing Botham. In a press statement, she alluded to the inadequacy of manslaughter charges and said, "The grand jury will decide if the charges should be different. Believe me, we will make sure justice is done in this case." So we need to turn the pressure up on DA Johnson and make sure she keeps her promise by ensuring Amber Guyger is charged with murder and that the Dallas Police Department gets Amber Guyger off the force. 

Here is the Petition:

We urge you to press for murder charges against Amber Guyger. Police are not exempt from the law and should be held accountable for their violence.