Not Even the Police Union Could Save Amber Guyger

Last September, one of Amber Guyger’s friends told her that she should adopt a German Shepherd—although the dog “may be racist,” the friend texted. “It’s okay.. I’m the same,” Guyger replied.

Two days later, coming home from work and still in her Dallas police officer uniform, Guyger entered what she says she thought was her own apartment. Upon seeing a black man inside, she shot him twice—thinking he was an intruder, she later said. Botham Jean was 26. He was killed in his own apartment—one floor above Guyger’s. As she entered, he was seated on his couch, a bowl of vanilla ice cream on the ottoman.

This week, a Dallas jury convicted Amber Guyger of murder. On Wednesday, she was sentenced to ten years in prison, eligible for parole in five. While the sentence is conspicuously short, she now joins a very small but growing number of law enforcement officers who have faced any criminal charges for shooting and killing a civilian. Some racial justice advocates and legal experts hope Guyger’s conviction could signal a shift in how the police are policed.