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HOUSTON – A Dallas police officer's explanation that she killed a black neighbor who lived on top of her because she took her apartment to her was considered implausible and interested in her family and his lawyers.
Police training experts and psychologists are divided as to the credibility of the story of the agent Amber Guyger on how she came to kill Jean Botham, 26 years old. she could persuade a jury that the murder was tragic but justifiable.
Guyger, 30, was charged with manslaughter during Jean's murder last week, whose funeral took place on Thursday exactly one week after the deadly meeting. Guyger told investigators that she had parked on the wrong floor of her building after returning from work late at night and that she had mistakenly entered Jean's apartment, just above his home office. third floor.
She said that it was dark inside and that she thought Jean was a burglar and that she shot him without obeying his "verbal orders". She said that she only realized that she was not at home after shooting him and turning on the lights.
The family's lawyers criticized the treatment of the investigation, alleging that Mr. Guyger had benefited from preferential treatment. They also criticized Guyger's version of the events, saying she was supposed to portray her actions in the best light.
"Botham Jean is not here to give his version of what happened because he's dead," said a family lawyer, Benjamin Crump.
Some experts who are not connected to the case say that Guyger should have recognized what was really happening and stopped using lethal force.
"Law enforcement has no place for fearful officers," said Jameca Woody Falconer, a police psychologist based in St. Louis. "Fearful officers make hasty decisions and bad decisions. In this situation, the officer let his fear influence his decision-making, and it cost the life of an innocent man. "
Falconer said Guyger should have been better trained to defuse any conflict with Jean once the two had seen each other and to quickly determine that she was in the wrong apartment.
Others say that even if Guyger was in the wrong apartment, she could have reasonably believed that she was defending her life and property.
"It is a question that concerns his use of lethal force and if you can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that there is no problem. reasonable opinion about what she did, "said Eugene O'Donnell, former police officer and attorney. is now a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
O'Donnell said there should be a thorough investigation to determine all the factors that led to Jean's shooting, and one or two details could make a difference.
"It's a mistake to reject something invading just because. . . it seems implausible or inexplicable, "he said.
Laurence Miller, a police psychologist in Boca Raton, Florida, said that based on information currently available, Guyger appears to have "basically followed the procedure of dealing with a possible deadly clash."
"Botham Jean is not here to give his version of what happened because he's dead."
"The main problem is: what was Agent Guyger doing in Jean's apartment in the first place?"
GEORGIA. Radvansky, a professor at the University of Notre Dame who studied cognition and human memory, said it was "plausible" that someone could misidentify a familiar element.
"In general, the more things are similar, the more likely there is confusion," Radvansky said. "That said, these confusions are often resolved quickly."
All the experts agreed that many questions would have to be answered before Guyger's credibility could be judged. They understand if Guyger was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, his level of fatigue, his history of emotional or medical problems, or any story that she might have had with Jean, although the first reports suggest that the two did not know each other.
The authorities have not published the registration of Guyger's 911 call or the results of its toxicological tests.
Dallas defense attorney James Whalen said registering Guyger's 911 call after shooting John would be a critical indicator of his credibility. But John's response will also be examined, he added.
"He could have the same reaction:" Oh my God, someone comes into my apartment. I have to protect myself, said Whalen. "He sees it as a threat, she sees it as a threat and we have this big misunderstanding."
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