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Dallas, TX – The arrest affidavit released Monday afternoon revealed many more details about the circumstances surrounding the Dallas police officer who mistakenly shot a man in his own apartment.
Off-duty Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger returned home from work just after 10 p.m. on Sept. 6, after having worked 14 hours serving warrants in high crime areas of the city.
Officer Guyger, 30, parked on the 4th floor of the parking garage adjacent to her apartment building, WCAU reported.
The affidavit said the garage levels correspond with the floors in the apartment complex. Officer Guyger lives on the 3rd Floor of the Southside Flats apartment complex, and should have parked on the 3rd floor where her apartment was.
Officer Guyger proceeded into the building and went to the door of the apartment she believed to be her own and inserted her key.
The affidavit used to get the warrant for the officer’s arrest said the door to the 4th Floor apartment was not completely shut. It’s been reported that the Southside Flats apartments use a keycard entry system.
“She inserted a unique door key, with an electronic chip, into the door key hole,” the affidavit said. “The door, which was slightly ajar prior to Guyger’s arrival, fully opened under the force of the key insertion.”
The sound of the door opening alerted 26-year-old Botham Jean, who went to see what was going on at his front door, the affidavit said.
Officer Guyger saw the silhouette of someone in what she believed to be her own apartment, and drew her firearm, WCAU reported. The affidavit said she believed she was being robbed.
She gave verbal commands that were ignored by Jean, according to the affidavit. Then she fired her weapon in the dark at the person twice, striking him once.
The arrest affidavit said it wasn’t until Officer Guyger was already on the phone with 911, that she reached to turn on the lights and she realized she was not in her own apartment.
She went into the hall and checked the address on the door, and confirmed for the dispatchers that she was in unit 1478, one floor above her own apartment, WCAU reported.
Jean was transported to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas where he later died.
Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall announced Officer Guyger’s impending arrest on Friday, and said the Texas Rangers were taking over the investigation.
“We have also invited the Texas Rangers to conduct an independent investigation," Chief Hall told reporters. “They have just arrived a moment ago and they are currently being briefed.”
The Texas Rangers requested that the warrant not be issued until they actually had a chance to investigate. That warrant was issued on Sunday.
Officer Guyger surrendered to authorities at the Kaufman County Sheriff's Department on Sunday night. She was released on a $300,000 about two hours later, the Star-Telegram reported.
District Attorney Faith Johnson said the investigation was ongoing and the final case would be presented to a grand jury, who will then decide whether or not to charge the off-duty officer with manslaughter, murder or any other charges.
“Trust me, we will present to the grand jury everything that we can possibly present to them,” Johnson said at a press conference on Sept. 10.
From the limited information that has been released, there has been nothing to suggest that there could have, in any way, been racial bias involved in the shooting.
The officer was also off-duty and not acting in a law enforcement capacity at the time.
Multiple sources have confirmed that the two did not know each other, and any claims otherwise have been disproven, according to the Dallas Morning News.