$100 Million For Botham Jean's Family!

Allison and Bertrum Jean with Ben Crump after the federal court awarded the estate of Botham Jean $100 million from Amber Guyger.

When Amber Guyger gets out of the iron college, she will have no property or any earned income from book deals, future employment or investments in her possible children. She will have to move in with her parents for the foreseeable future.

The city of Dallas and the state of Texas will take all the earnings from Guyger to compensate the family of Botham Jean.

Guyger must pay $98.65 million in punitive damages.

A federal jury awarded $98,650,000 in damages to the family and estate of Botham Jean, who was killed by the former Dallas police officer 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’s 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.

My son did nothing wrong. Amber Guyger and the Dallas Police tried to make him the criminal.

The jury awarded $10.25 million to Jean’s 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’s mother Allison Jean said despite her sadness, the verdict symbolizes that the jury recognized her son’s value in the world.

“They had to put it in monetary terms,” Allison Jean told reporters. “I 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.”

Bertrum Jean, Botham Jean’s father, said justice was served.

“We will miss our Bo dearly,” he said. “I can’t 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.”

Over the course of the 3-day trial, the jury heard testimony from Bothum Jean’s family and experts to help bolster the plaintiffs’ case that Guyger was unreasonable in her use of force.

She might as well stay in the iron college. Once out, Amber Guyger will have nothing of hers left. Maybe some of her clothes and shoes, but everything else is gone.

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 “insult” for Guyger to choose not to be present. Attorneys did not explain how Guyger would be able to pay the damages while she’s in prison with no assets, but Washington and the Jean family said it’s not about money, but accountability.

“We want to make sure when Amber Guyger is released from prison that Amber Guyger is not going to have a life,” Washington said. “She'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.”

Guyger said “I thought it was my apartment” 19 times during the 911 call — but what she didn’t 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’s 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 — based on the scene and his autopsy, Jean was likely getting up from his couch when he was shot.

“Botham did nothing that would’ve justified Amber’s use of force,” Washington told jurors.

Gotham's life mattered.

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’s family remembered him as dedicated to his faith, full of joy and love for others. Allison Jean said they’ll continue his legacy through a foundation in his name established after his death.

“He came to Dallas, a city which he loved, but Dallas was unkind to him,” Allison Jean said. “And 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.”