Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger released on parole after seven years

Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger was released on parole from prison in Gatesville, Texas, on Friday, October 16. The New York Post, The Guardian, UPI, NBC News, and CBS News all reported that the 38-year-old was released after serving seven years of a 10-year prison sentence. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, cited by the New York Post, Guyger will serve the rest of her sentence in the community. [1][2][4][5][6]

Guyger was convicted of murder after fatally shooting 26-year-old Botham Jean in his Dallas apartment in September 2018. According to UPI, the incident occurred after Guyger finished a 15-hour shift and got off the elevator on the wrong floor. She mistakenly entered Jean's apartment, believing it was her own, and shot him dead. [1][2][4]

An attorney for the family of Botham Jean told NBC that the family opposed her early release. The attorney stated that the family wanted Guyger to serve the maximum amount of her time. The Guardian reported that the Texas board of pardons and paroles approved her release a little more than two weeks prior to her discharge, despite the objections from the Jean family. [1][2]

On the night of September 6, 2018, Jean was an unarmed 26-year-old accountant. Guyger, who was off-duty at the time, initially claimed she believed Jean was a burglar. She was first charged with manslaughter, which sparked protests and accusations of racial bias because Jean was Black and Guyger is white. A grand jury indicted Guyger for murder in November 2018, and she was found guilty in October 2019. [1][9]