White ex-cop who killed unarmed Black man in his apartment she mistook for her own granted parole after serving 7 years

A white former Dallas police officer convicted of killing a Black man in his apartment that she mistook for her own has been granted parole after serving seven years of her ten-year prison sentence.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Parole approved Amber Guyger’s release on Thursday, the first time she was eligible to re-apply, despite objections from the family of Botham Jean, the unarmed accountant she shot and killed.

The board, which was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott, rejected Guyger’s initial parole request in 2024.

Guyger, 38, was convicted of murder in 2018 for killing Jean, 26, who is originally from St Lucia.

He was eating a bowl of ice cream when Guyger entered his home and shot him.

She testified during her trial that after a long shift at work and still in uniform, she walked up to Jean’s apartment — which was on the fourth floor, directly above hers on the third — and found the door unlocked.

Guyger said she thought the apartment was her own and that Jean was an intruder when she drew her service weapon and entered.

The former cop was arrested three days after the shooting and fired before the start of her murder trial.

The shooting drew widespread attention because of the strange circumstances and because it was one in a string of shootings of Black men by white police officers.

Her sentencing hearing also included a stunning courtroom scene when Jean’s brother and the Black judge presiding over the case embraced the sobbing Guyger.

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