Attorney: Dallas officer who should be arrested

The family of Botham Shem Jean – the man who was killed by a police officer on Thursday night – is calling for the "swift and immediate arrest of the officer involved."

In a press conference on Saturday evening, attorney Lee Merritt said the family is upset that an arrest warrant has not been issued.

"The warrant that seemed to be looming was withdrawn," he said. "From everything we've heard, we're not sure exactly what happened. Everybody has the right to do so for the purpose of a charge of manslaughter.

Dallas Morning News and Lee Merritt, the attorney hired to represent the Jean family, have both identified her as Amber Guyger. The officer's name has been circulating throughout the social media since at least Friday.

John, 26, was killed in his own apartment at around 10 p.m. Thursday by an off-duty, uniformed Dallas Police Officer who said she's mistooking Jean's apartment for her when she got off work.

Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall said on Friday, "We are in the process of obtaining a warrant."

However, Hall said on Saturday that the Texas Rangers, who are now investigating the shooting, have asked that they "hold off on the warrant until they have an opportunity to investigate" some of the information that was provided during the interview. officer who shot Jean. Hall did not elaborate.

"The ball is in their court to investigate, deliberate and come back with a decision," she said.

Sara Mokuria, co-founder of Mothers Against Police Brutality, said this is an acceptable way for Dallas to represent itself to the world.

"We want full transparency," she said. "We would like the name of the officer to be released publicly and we would like the district attorney to act swiftly and give us immediate charges."

Hall said the officer's name would not be released until she is arrested.

Merritt also denied rumors that Jean and the officer knew each other.

"We have nothing to substantiate those claims," ​​he said. "Certainly, we can only confirm that, in fact they say just the opposite."

Asked if he was worried about the speculation and rumors spreading about the shooting, he again called for transparency.

Earlier in the day, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said that justice will be served.

Both Rawlings and state Sen. Royce West asked for the city of Dallas.

"Is this a white on back crime? Yes, "said West. "It was a white, female Dallas police officer who shot and killed a person from St. Lucia of African descent. Is this a race-related crime? Do not know. I would like to make any kind of decision.

Several questions still remain – such as the officer got into the apartment, why she thought it was so, how long she was there and what exactly happened between her and Jean. Hall said a blood draw has been made to determine the position of the drug.

"For some strange reason, the door has been opened. We need to find out about a personal relationship, "said West. "There are so many facts that need to be looked at before determining what kind of homicide this is."

Mokuria said: "We know that there are calls for peace, but peace does not come without justice, and we are in this moment we are calling for justice … This is an opportunity for the city ​​to be transparent … to the wrongs that have been done. "

Rawlings said Jean's death is a very serious issue for the city.

"Botham Jean was exactly the sort of citizen we wanted in Dallas," he said. "A professional … a believer in his church, a neighbor to his friends. A man who always had a smile on his face. And for that reason, this is a terrible, terrible thing that has happened. Not only has he lost his life, but we've lost a potential leader for this city. "

The mayor said he's with Jean's mother and sister. Jean's father will be arriving in Dallas in the coming days. Rawlings also spoke with the prime minister of Saint Lucia, where Jean is from.

"I offered my apologizes on the behalf of the city of Dallas," Rawlings said.

According to the Dallas Police Department, Guyger has been involved in a shooting before. In 2017, she shot Uvaldo Perez, 47.

Officers from the Crime Response Team, which is a member of the response to the 8300 block of Reva Street after receiving information from undercover officers. The woman was in a car with Perez and when police arrived, Perez left the vehicle and confronted the officers, police said.

Perez grabbed one of the officer's Tasers. He was really busy.