Texas policewoman facing manslaughter charge in death of Botham Jean

DALLAS (AP) — A white Dallas police officer who says she mistook her black neighbour’s apartment for her own when she fatally shot him was arrested on a manslaughter charge.

Officer Amber Guyger was booked into the Kaufman County Jail after being taken into custody Sunday, the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a news release.

The department said the investigation in the off-duty shooting is ongoing and that no additional information was available.

A jail employee said Guyger was released on bond.

Guyger fatally shot 26-year-old Botham Jean on Thursday at Jean’s apartment.

Lawyers for Jean’s family had been calling for Guyger’s arrest, saying the fact that she had remained free days after the shooting showed she was receiving favourable treatment.

They held a news conference Sunday night, shortly before the arrest was announced, making another plea for the officer to be taken into custody and saying their team had presented new evidence — a witness and video footage — to prosecutors.

They didn’t provide details.

The family’s attorneys weren’t available to comment after the arrest came.

Police Chief U. Renee Hall said the day after the shooting that her department was seeking manslaughter charges against Guyger, 30, a four-year veteran of the police force.

But Hall said Saturday that the Texas Rangers, who have taken over the investigation, asked her department to hold off because they had learned new information and wanted to investigate further before a warrant was issued.

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