On Thursday, September 6th at 10pm, off duty officer, Amber R. Guyger (30) returned to her apartment complex after a shift in full uniform and parked her car on the wrong floor of the garage. According to an arrest warrant affidavit she walked into what she thought was her apartment with the door already ajar and saw a "large silhouette" of a black man that she believed to be a burglar. She gave "verbal commands" before firing her weapon twice, striking Mr. Jean once in the chest and it wasn't until she called 911 and turned the lights on that she realized she was in the wrong apartment. However, a lawyer for Mr. Jean's family challenged parts of the officer's account, including her claim the door was ajar. He said witnesses had said that they heard banging on the door and a woman's saying, "let me in". Even if Guyger did mistake the apartment, which has a distinctive red doormat outside, for her own, he said, there is no indication that Mr. Jean acted aggressively to make the officer fear for her life. So far the Dallas District Attorney has decided the case should be further investigated and it is likely Guyger will be charged with anything from murder to manslaughter.
Although many are suspicious as to whether the shooting was racially motivated there is not enough conclusive evidence to determine whether or not it was merely an accident. Recently, many local governments have proposed police officers wear body cams to record all interactions and this incident could be used to further that proposal. Some believe the federal government should intervene given the quantity of innocent civilian shootings to implement federal law regarding racial bias conduct, possible mandatory body cams, or other courses of action.
Questions:
1) Do you believe local government, federal government, or neither should implement laws such as mandatory body cams or racial bias training?
2) Is it possible Guyger's shooting was racially motivated or do you think it was a mere accident and if so should she be prosecuted for murder?
3) Given the recent attention police misconduct (especially race related incidents) have gotten what other measures could be taken to prevent and monitor future misconduct?
Although many are suspicious as to whether the shooting was racially motivated there is not enough conclusive evidence to determine whether or not it was merely an accident. Recently, many local governments have proposed police officers wear body cams to record all interactions and this incident could be used to further that proposal. Some believe the federal government should intervene given the quantity of innocent civilian shootings to implement federal law regarding racial bias conduct, possible mandatory body cams, or other courses of action.
Questions:
1) Do you believe local government, federal government, or neither should implement laws such as mandatory body cams or racial bias training?
2) Is it possible Guyger's shooting was racially motivated or do you think it was a mere accident and if so should she be prosecuted for murder?
3) Given the recent attention police misconduct (especially race related incidents) have gotten what other measures could be taken to prevent and monitor future misconduct?
I think body cams are a good idea and should be implemented since it will make officers aware that they can't abuse their power and just be aggressive because they will have a backlash and consequences. However, in this case Amber Guyger was actually off duty so she wouldn't have had a body cam on her. I think she should be charged with murder but it isn't a racially motivated shooting. However, it seems suspicious that she would've walked into the wrong apartment and then shot the "intruder" who didn't pose any threat to her.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Grace that body cams are a good idea to have on the officers while on duty because it can help with future situations. I believe that it should be a local government enforcement to implement laws that require body cams because it would be more easier to establish the system, and get proper funding. With recent police misconduct, the idea of body cams do seem like an achievable way to prevent and monitor misconduct.
ReplyDeleteThis story is very different yet also very similar to many stories of police shootings in the past. This incident is truly tragic especially since we will never know the whole story. I think that it is important that laws be made requiring body cams and racial bias training, but all of this would not have helped in this situation. I think that there should be reforms in all aspects of law enforcement as a whole because incidents like these have become more common. It was stated that the victim posed no threat to the Guyger, yet he was still shot. What does that say about law enforcement training today? Accident or not a decorated police officer should not be making these "mistakes," especially when these mistakes involve people of color.
ReplyDeleteMary Entoma
DeleteI believe that body cameras could be beneficial for police officers. This would not only make the truth that much easier to obtain, but it would also make an officer think twice before acting. The story Guyger gave was very different than what witnesses claimed to hear, and it doesn't add up. I think she should be put on trial to find out the truth of what really happened. Accident or not, the man still got shot by a police officer, and just because she is a police officer, it doesn't mean she's above the law and should get away with man slaughter. To solve this issue, I believe the body cameras are necessary and will solve the problem of police brutality.
ReplyDeleteStates should implement laws for mandatory body cams, as this was not power was not reserved to Congress through the Constitution. The implementation of body cams could provide crucial evidence in police cases involving alleged racial bias or unlawful police harassment. However, I think this situation is different than most. The police officer was off duty, so even if body cams were enforced she might not have been wearing hers. I think that this tragic situation was not racially motivated, but Guyer should still be tried for manslaughter. To try and avoid racially motivated cases in the future is a difficult question to answer, because it is hard to un-teach racism especially to adults who have long formed their opinions. But I think that the state should take actions to implement racial bias training along side body cams.
ReplyDeleteGiven the circumstances described of the killing, I believe that Guyger's shooting was not murder. I cannot say for certain whether or not the Guyger's shooting was an accident, as mistaking another apartment without the "distinctive red doormat" for her own seems a bit absurd. Even if it was an accident, it does not mitigate in any way the severity of the incident. I don't know what Guyger's beliefs are, but I think there was probably some racial motivation involved in the shooting. Some things regarding the shooting don't seem to add up; the killing may not have been premeditated, but a life was taken and Guyger should be charged for manslaughter.
ReplyDeleteI believed the shooting was at least partially racially motivated since it may have went differently if the victim was white. However, most the shooting had to do with a fatal mistake, because most people would fear for their lives if they had to enter their homes and encountered a stranger. The reaction was absolutely was unwarranted as it could have gone more peacefully. Measures such as body cams an racial bias training should be implemented as part of police training in order to prevent such tragedies from happening in the future.
ReplyDeleteThis is Jeremy Ho by the way.
DeleteTo answer the second question, I do not think that Guyger shot Jean because he was African American, however I do believe that his race likely affected the incident. If the person Guyger found in the apartment was white, I believe that the shooting would have been less likely to happen. Of course, I don't think she was intentionally being racist or purposely wanted to harm this black man, I think just because of her experience and bias, her initial reaction was much more fearful than it needed to be. In this particular incident, I don't think that a body cam would have greatly affected the outcome. Nevertheless, the body cam may have decreased the police officer's reaction to shoot first, which could have save Mr. Jean
ReplyDelete1) I think body cams are a great idea, if a little expensive. Police officers shouldn't be afraid of being watched. Police officer's have an important job with important qualifications, and watching would only serve to ensure those requirements are being met, which they should already be.
ReplyDeleteBody cams can even benefit a police officer by clearly recording their actions, and prevent misconduct charges.
2) no comment, but prosecute for premeditated murder in both cases
3) I actually think that the label "Hate crime" should be abolished: the law should punish hate crimes the same way as it would a normal crime.
two reasons:
A. It's very difficult to confirm or deny "hate" as a motivation for a crime, you would have to go back in time and read the offender's mind to be absolutely sure. It goes against the principle of justice "Innocent until proven guilty"
B. Then in the process of debating this topic, both sides will become very heated, and then no matter which way the argument is resolved, many people are angry at the justice system.
Punishing hate crimes more than normal creates a point of contention that actually divides the community more than it encourages tolerance.
The federal government should mandate a Body Cam Act in order to ensure that police are held accountable for their crimes. I do not think the crime was racially motivated but I doubt the incident was a pure accident. Accounts of Guyger banging on Jean's door and her forgetting about her door mat suggest intoxication or pure intent to kill. In order to easily decrease the occurrence of these kind of events, officers should be required to leave their uniforms and gear at the police station. Officers carry a different mentality while in uniform, and that attitude could have partially influenced the murder.
ReplyDeleteLocal governments should implement laws requiring police officers to wear body cams anytime they are in a uniform and implement racial bias training. Although racial bias training could be helpful in reducing police brutality towards African Americans, like Sophie said, it is difficult to reverse or modify the long-held beliefs people grew up with, especially towards such a controversial topic like racism. Therefore, racial bias training might not be as effective as it initially might seem to be. To answer the second question, I believe that the shooting might be due to a slight racial bias since it probably would not have happened if the victim was another race, but it was definitely not intended to be a premeditated hate crime. However, without more evidence, we cannot be completely sure about the crime and the officer’s true intentions.
ReplyDeleteMandatory body cams on police officers is a fantastic idea because far too often the aggressors and victims of a crime scene are mixed up which only leads to confusion and mistakes made. Racial bias training is probably a waste of time because racism is addressed in everyday life and if someone still holds racist beliefs in modern society then I doubt he will ever alter those beliefs. I recommend a racial brain test in order to become a police officer. If someone shows clears signs of disgust towards a certain race then he should not be allowed to privilege of enforcing the law. Whether or not it was an accident, we can never know for sure, but if the police officer was wearing a camera then we would know. Additionally, if we want to monitor future misconduct then vest cameras are again a fantastic idea.
ReplyDeleteI believe that body cams would be extremely effective in limiting the number of manslaughter incidents caused by police officers. The idea of having ones actions recording will make someone think twice before taking any risky actions, even when under duress. I don't think that racial bias training would help in these situations, as according to the officer, all she saw was a silhouette. Also, I don't think it matters whether this was racially motivated or it was an accident. Given the situation, there were plenty other ways to react and handle the situation the officer was in. Shooting them in the chest was definitely an overreaction and there should be a punishment given.
ReplyDeleteBody cams are an effective tactic to minimize the number of unwarranted shootings; however, it will not fully eliminate such cases as seen through various body cam recordings of these exact unwarranted use of power these body cams are used to prevent. That being said, I do not believe that Guyger's shooting was racially motivated. It is understandable for her to be frightened of a possible burglar in her "apartment," but she should still be held accountable for the tragic killing of a man, especially when she mistook the apartment as hers and overreacted. Like what Anna said, Mr. Jean's race may have increased the likelihood of Guyger shooting him but the shooting was not directly to target African Americans. While I believe that there are a myriad cases in which the shootings of innocent individuals are racially motivated, it does not mean that we can generalize it and deem that ALL white police and black innocent victim shootings are racially motivated. Thus rather than just focusing on racial bias training, I think it might be more effective if officers receive training as to HOW to handle such situations and knowing when exactly they need to resort to their weapons.
ReplyDeleteI think that for this issue the federal government should have the right to implement laws that would require body cams and racial bias training. When you have an issue where innocent lives are being put at risk because a select few people, like police officers, who are continuously showing dangerous behavior, then you have the federal government there to enforce what some states would otherwise refuse to do. Especially in this case where body cams and racial bias training shouldn’t bother the officers if they have nothing to hide. It is a simple solution/requirement for a big problem. In this particular incident of police brutality, I do think that more evidence and verification need to be released before anyone can justly make a decision on the charges. No one knows what officer Guyger’s biases are and it’s hard to prove those. Whether or not the incident was racially motivated, I believe there is a good chance of her being charged for murder because of the fact that Mr. Jean doubtfully threatened her life to the point where she felt she needed to use her gun.
ReplyDeleteBecause of incidents like these, and others, body cameras would serve as crucial evidence during prosecution in order to unveil the truth, if nothing else. Even more importantly, these body cameras would prevent police officers from acting rashly and could cause them to act with purpose while knowing they are being recorded. In regards to the motivation of this specific incident, I am not sure about the racial motivation, but I think that the case should be regarded as a murder regardless of that fact.
ReplyDeleteIn response to question three, I believe there are many more steps that need to be taken in order to prevent and monitor future police misconduct. There needs to be racial bias tests implemented for all current and incoming officers, as well as much more extensive training for situations involving true gun violence. Body cams need to be implemented in order to hold everyone accountable, regardless of the race of the cop or the race of the victim. Cops need to better understand the job they are undertaking when they commit to their job, and need to be completely free of racial bias and weakness when they are given a job.
ReplyDeleteThis case is obviously a tragedy and it should have never happened in the first place. However, I think that currently there is not enough evidence to know whether it was an accident or not and whether the officer was in the right or not. I don't think that this directly relates to body cameras because this same situation could have happened with a simple armed civilian. I think that this case should be investigated to the full extent of the law to deem whether the officer was in the right or not to get justice for the innocent man that was killed.
ReplyDeleteI agree with a bunch of the above comments, as body cams would provide one of the best forms of evidence, I think that there would still be a problem with a racial bias in law enforcement. Even if the cams were implemented, I think it is still a possibility for the officers themselves to have them "conveniently not work" or have the extended department still try to cover for their actions. While I firmly believe that body cams would for the most part be beneficial in preventing more unwarranted attacks and violence from happening, I worry that when it counts, the cams may be overlooked. I think that in this instance specifically, a body cam would be the best from to understand the true events that unfolded, and be able to paint a clearer picture to see whether the officer was telling the truth or not.
ReplyDeleteWhile introducing mandatory body cameras would be a good first step to help in the analysis of these situations, the police department themselves must also be required to hand over the footage, as far too many times there have been occasions where the footage from body cameras has been lost, or the camera has not been turned on at all. Besides body cameras, further measures must be taken in order to ensure that the police officer was justified in their actions, and if not, to allow for the prosecution of officers who have abused their authority. However, in this particular case, the officer was off duty, so the presence of a body camera would not have mattered, and her murder of an innocent man is definitely a symptom of racism in America.
ReplyDeleteI actually read about this story somewhere on the internet, and it makes me super angry. The killing itself was horrible, but what I think is worse is the fact that the police aren't doing anything about it. Furthermore, they are bringing up useless information, like the fact that there was weed found in Botham Jean's apartment (which could have been planted by the PD), to make the killing seem justified. It makes me think that no matter how many laws are put into place to prevent killings such as this one, that there will always be racist cops who use their power to enact violence and death among civilians. I think that Amber should be fired immediately and be sentenced for murder of an innocent. It's so obvious that her (and the PD's) motives are racist and don't stand for equality.
ReplyDeleteI believe that to start, local governments should have the authority to determine whether or not body cams should be mandatory. I definitely think that body cams could help in cases like this, since there seems to be reoccurring incidents similar to this one where the officer misjudges the situation and ends of doing more harm then good. Additionally, nothing the officer says can be backed up with evidence since it usually happens in a place without direct witnesses, in this case there were witnesses who heard the commotion, but they were not there seeing the actions play out. I think that Guyger's shooting has a possibility of being racially motivated since all the officer saw from the scene was a "black man" who she had inferred was a burglar because of his appearance.
ReplyDeleteI think that having body cams on police will help reveal the truth for things and get justice. I think that this would be a general positive thing for the police force and the controversy of police brutality especially to POC. But for this instance, the officer was off duty and was not on a policy officer with a racial motive, but this would just be a person who was scared and owned a gun. That still doesn't excuse anything that they did because it still was in just and could be part of the stereotypes initiating fear into people when they don't need to.
ReplyDeleteThis is really saddening to hear. She took such as rash action in shooting him, whether or not it was racially motivated. This whole thing could've been avoided, if she went to her actual apartment or noticed the red carpet on the floor. As for improving it, I agree that putting body cams on officers will help them in the decision of it is considered a murder or not and if it was due to racial bias. As for this occurrence, there just isn't enough evidence to see if there was any racial bias when she fired at him. It just devastates me that even this situation, she decided to fire and end his life without him making any aggressive moves to motivate her.
ReplyDeleteI believe that for incidents such as these, it is crucial that either the federal or state governments implement laws which would put body cams on police. This would be a start to preventing such incidents from occurring as frequently, as the body cams could serve as direct evidence of what occurs during these incidents. Furthermore, there should be regulation of how the footage is handled, as many times the footage from cams are lost by the police, thus the evidence disappears. The footage would help in determining what truly happens during these situations.
ReplyDeleteI think that body cams work, so I won't be repetitive and just restate what everyone else is saying. This is a little out there, but I think there should be more focus on correctly penalizing officers who commit crimes. We have seen time and time again police officers getting away with minimal charges for horrible crimes. If police officers see that they can get away with acting out of line, they will not fear the consequences as much as they should be. If however the judges give the police officers correct sentences, then it may discourage others from testing the line.
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't think this a racially motivated incident, it is a bit unusual how erratically the police officer acted. There are many unanswered questions, from both of the perspectives, for example: how the officer knew there was someone inside if the door was closed. All of this leads us to consider the lax gun laws in states such as Texas. I think the power to shoot people who are committing minor crimes on your property is unwarranted. It is important to establish security, but is it counterproductive if it is done in this manner.
ReplyDelete