Dallas police fire officer who shot unarmed black man in his apartment

Sept. 24 (UPI) -- The Dallas Police Department on Monday fired officer Amber Guyger two weeks after being arrested for manslaughter for fatally shooting an unarmed black man in his apartment.

DPD Chief Reneé Hall announced Guyger's firing after facing weeks of criticism for keeping the officer on the payroll after her arrest. The department said it would keep Guyger on administrative leave pending the results of a criminal investigation.

"An internal affairs investigation concluded that on September 9, 2018, officer Guyger ... engaged in adverse conduct when she was arrested for manslaughter," the announcement said.

The shooting happened Sept. 6 when Guyger, who was off duty but still in uniform, entered the apartment of 26-year-old Botham Jean, believing it was her apartment. She then shot Jean, who died en route to the hospital.

Police said Guyger had just finished a 15-hour shift and got off the elevator on the fourth floor, instead of the third floor, where she lived. She then opened the door to Jean's apartment, which was unlocked. The lights were off inside and when she saw a man's figure, she thought her apartment was being robbed and opened fire. When she turned on the lights, she realized she went into the wrong apartment and killed a man in his own home, police said.

DPD said Guyger has the right to appeal her firing. She was released from Kaufman County Jail on $300,000 bail.

Jean's death prompted street protests as well as one that interrupted a Dallas City Council meeting.

Jean, a native of St. Lucia, worked for PriceWaterhouseCoopers and was remembered by friends and family as a kind, churchgoing man with a powerful singing voice.

This is not the first time Guyger has come under investigation for an officer-involved shooting.

Last year, she shot a man who allegedly tried to take away her stun gun. That shooting was found to be justified and the man was sent to prison for two years for taking an officer's weapon.