Jury Awards $98.65 Million to Family of Man Killed by Former Dallas Police Officer

A federal jury on Wednesday awarded nearly $100 million to the family of Botham Shem Jean, a Black man who was eating ice cream and watching television at home in Dallas when he was shot dead by a white police officer six years ago.

Amber R. Guyger, the officer who killed Mr. Jean, used excessive force and violated Mr. Jean’s constitutional rights, the jury concluded. It ordered Ms. Guyger to pay civil penalties to Mr. Jean’s family of $60 million in punitive damages and $38.65 million for their loss and suffering. The civil trial was held in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

The shooting in 2018 set off widespread anger and protests, helping to sharpen focus on the use of violence by law enforcement officers against unarmed Black people in the United States.

It was unclear whether the Jean family would ever see any of the money, but its legal team said what mattered more was holding Ms. Guyger liable in a civil court.

“I think this jury sent the message loud and clear, that they are not going to tolerate police brutality,” Daryl Washington, one of the family’s lawyers, told reporters. “And I think that message is going to be heard not only in Dallas, not only in the state of Texas, but throughout this country.”

Ms. Guyger was fired by the Dallas Police Department after the shooting. She was found guilty of murder and sentenced in 2019 to 10 years in prison.

Mr. Jean, a 26-year-old accountant, lived in the apartment directly above Ms. Guyger’s. She told the court during her criminal trial that after finishing her shift, she entered the wrong apartment and shot Mr. Jean, thinking he was an intruder.

While she was convicted of murder, civil rights activists said her 10-year sentence was too lenient. Some also said that Ms. Guyger had received preferential treatment because she was not arrested immediately after the shooting and was initially charged with manslaughter, not murder.

“Justice was served, and we are very thankful, and we pray that it will be a lesson for the authorities,” Bertrum Jean, Mr. Jean’s father, said at a news conference on Wednesday.

The family had originally filed the civil suit against Ms. Guyger and the city of Dallas. A judge dismissed the latter from the case in December 2019, leaving Ms. Guyger as the sole defendant.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied Ms. Guyger’s appeal against her 10-year sentence in 2022.