Reports of marijuana found in the home of a black man shot and killed by an off-duty Dallas police officer after she says she mistook his home for her own has drawn outrage.
Amber Guyger, a white Dallas police officer, shot and killed her black neighbor, 26-year-old Botham Jean, around 10 p.m. on September 6 after she says she entered his apartment, believing it was her own, and thought he was an intruder, according to the Dallas News. The officer lived directly below Jean. She has been charged with manslaughter.
NBC affiliate 11 Alive reports a police affidavit says .37 ounces of marijuana was found in Jean’s apartment. The discovery drew outrage on social media after media publications, including a Dallas FOX affiliate, focused on the detail in news coverage, a move that comes across as victim-blaming and prioritizing the biased narrative created by government officials.
Jean’s lawyer, Lee Merritt, said the search of Jean’s apartment "highlights just sort of the nefarious nature of their investigation,” according to 11 Alive. "They went in with the intent to look for some sort of criminal justification for the victim," Merritt said. "It's a pattern that we've seen before.”
“We have a cop who clearly did something wrong,” Merritt continued. “And instead of investigating the homicide — instead of going into her apartment and seeing what they can find, instead of collecting evidence relevant for the homicide investigation — they went out specifically looking for ways to tarnish the image of this young man." 11 Alive reports Merritt found out about what was uncovered by the search warrant shortly after Jean’s funeral on Thursday.
