Amber Guyger, Ex-Dallas Police Officer, Is Guilty of Murder for Killing Her Neighbor

Originally from the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia, Mr. Jean had moved to Dallas to work for PwC, the accounting firm, formerly known as PricewaterhouseCoopers. Aware of the dangers of being a black man in America, his family said, he was careful to wear Ralph Lauren dress shirts and drive the speed limit to avoid even routine encounters with the police. He had a big smile and sang at church.

“Botham was the best that we have to offer,” Benjamin Crump, a civil rights lawyer representing the family, said at a news conference after the verdict. “But it shouldn’t take all of that for unarmed black and brown people in America to get justice.”

Mr. Jean lived in an apartment in downtown Dallas, and Ms. Guyger lived directly below him on the third floor.

Ms. Guyger was returning home from a long day of work when she said she accidentally parked on the wrong floor of their complex’s garage. As she walked down the fourth-floor hallway, she said, she did not realize that anything was amiss, nor did she notice the red doormat outside Mr. Jean’s door.

The door strike plate was defective and not fully latched, according to the defense, allowing Ms. Guyger to enter using her own keys.

When Ms. Guyger noticed someone inside, she said, she drew her gun and shouted, “Let me see your hands.” She testified that Mr. Jean was walking toward her and shouting “Hey” when she fired her weapon twice, striking Mr. Jean once in the torso and killing him.

“I was scared he was going to kill me,” she told jurors.

Her testimony conflicted with prosecution witnesses, including neighbors who said they did not hear verbal commands and a medical examiner, who testified that the bullet had a downward trajectory, indicating that Mr. Jean was either getting up from a seated position or was “in a cowering position” when he was shot.