A federal jury awarded $98,650,000 in damages to the family and estate of Botham Jean, who was killed by former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger in his apartment in 2018.
After about three hours of deliberation, jurors found that Guyger used excessive force in shooting and killing Jean, a 26-year-old accountant and Guyger鈥檚 upstairs neighbor, when Guyger said she mistakenly went into his apartment and mistook him for an intruder.
The jury also found that Guyger was acting in her capacity as an officer when she shot Jean and violated his constitutional rights by unreasonably using deadly force.
The jury awarded $10.25 million to Jean鈥檚 estate for his pain, loss of life and earnings, $14.2 million each to his mother and father for their past and future loss and mental anguish and $60 million in punitive damages against Guyger.
Jean鈥檚 mother Allison Jean said despite her sadness, the verdict symbolizes that the jury recognized her son鈥檚 value in the world.
鈥淭hey had to put it in monetary terms,鈥� Allison Jean told reporters. 鈥淚 cannot feel it in monetary terms because I know how precious he was to me. But it sends a signal to the world that his life mattered.鈥�
Bertrum Jean, Botham Jean鈥檚 father, said justice was served.
鈥淲e will miss our Bo dearly,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 stand the thought of him not being around. But his memories, the wonderful things he did in this life, this gives me joy. And (to) know that he was loved by so many, this gives me joy.鈥�
Over the course of the 3-day trial, the jury heard testimony from Bothum Jean鈥檚 family and experts to help bolster the plaintiffs鈥� case that Guyger was unreasonable in her use of force.
Guyger was convicted of murder in 2019 and is currently serving her 10-year sentence at a state prison in Gatesville. She has no attorney in the case and waived her right to be present at trial.
Plaintiffs attorney Daryl Washington called it an 鈥渋nsult鈥� for Guyger to choose not to be present. Attorneys did not explain how Guyger would be able to pay the damages while she鈥檚 in prison with no assets, but Washington and the Jean family said it鈥檚 not about money, but accountability.
鈥淲e want to make sure when Amber Guyger is released from prison that Amber Guyger is not going to have a life,鈥� Washington said. 鈥淪he's not going to have a normal life, she's not going to be able to capitalize on any fame that she may have gotten from this case.鈥�
Guyger said 鈥淚 thought it was my apartment鈥� 19 times during the 911 call 鈥� but what she didn鈥檛 say was that Botham Jean had a gun or was charging at her, Washington told jurors. He said Guyger changed her story after she got an attorney. She testified at the criminal trial that Botham Jean charged at her when she entered his apartment, and she ordered him to put his hands up before shooting.
Guyger and another Dallas police officer testified that the Dallas Police Department鈥檚 general orders state that officers are always on the job, which attorneys said showed that Guyger was acting in her professional capacity when she shot Botham Jean. And according to testimony from crime scene expert Michael Maloney, Botham Jean likely did not pose a threat to Guyger in the way she described 鈥� based on the scene and his autopsy, Jean was likely getting up from his couch when he was shot.
鈥淏otham did nothing that would鈥檝e justified Amber鈥檚 use of force,鈥� Washington told jurors.
The city of Dallas was initially included as a defendant in the lawsuit. The Jean family accused DPD of showing a pattern of excessive force among its police officers and failing to adequately train Guyger on the use of force.
But the city was ultimately dismissed from the lawsuit after U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn ruled the plaintiffs failed to sufficiently prove their claims against the city and DPD. The Jean family and their attorneys said the city still should have been liable for the actions of its officers.
Botham Jean was a Harding University graduate born in St. Lucia. He worked as an accountant for PricewaterhouseCoopers, and his pastor Sammie Berry testified that Jean had hopes of becoming a partner at the firm.
Botham Jean鈥檚 family remembered him as dedicated to his faith, full of joy and love for others. Allison Jean said they鈥檒l continue his legacy through a foundation in his name established after his death.
鈥淗e came to Dallas, a city which he loved, but Dallas was unkind to him,鈥� Allison Jean said. 鈥淎nd so what I would like to leave with you is, find out from your city how valuable each and every one of you is, because they need to demonstrate that value by the laws that they have, how they treat their people.鈥�
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