Former Dallas police Officer Amber Guyger listens to the prosecutions’ closing arguments in her murder trial in the 204th District Court at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas, Monday, September 30, 2019. Guyger shot and killed Botham Jean, an unarmed 26-year-old neighbor in his own apartment last year. She told police she thought his apartment was her own and that he was an intruder. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP, Pool)
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A white Fort Worth, Texas, police officer who fatally shot a black woman while she was inside her home was arrested Monday and charged with murder.
Here’s a look at that and other high-profile cases in recent years in which officers were charged in the fatal shootings of black people:
AARON DEAN
Tarrant County court records say Dean was arrested and charged with murder Monday night for the shooting death of 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson. Fort Worth, Texas, authorities say Jefferson was killed early Saturday after a neighbor called police to report that her front door had been open for hours. Bodycam video released by police showed that Dean walked around the side of the house and fired one shot through a window a split-second after shouting at Jefferson to show her hands. Dean was not heard identifying himself as police in the video. Interim Police Chief Ed Kraus said Dean resigned on Monday before he could be fired.
AMBER GUYGER
Guyger was convicted October 1 for the September 2018 killing of 26-year-old Botham Jean. Authorities say Guyger told investigators that while returning home from work, she mistook Jean’s door for her own and that she shot him inside his home when he didn’t obey her commands. She was sentenced the following day to 10 years in prison.
JASON VAN DYKE
A jury convicted Officer Jason Van Dyke of second-degree murder in the 2014 fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald. The white Chicago police officer shot the black teenager 16 times. The release of police dashcam video 13 months after the shooting sparked large protests and led to the ouster of Chicago’s top police official. Three other officers were acquitted of trying to cover up the shooting.
ROBERT BATES
Bates, a white Tulsa County volunteer sheriff’s deputy, was sentenced in 2016 to four years in prison for second-degree manslaughter in the 2015 death of Eric Harris, 44, who was unarmed and restrained. Bates served less than half the sentence.
JAMES BURNS
Burns, a white Atlanta police officer was charged with felony murder and other counts in the June 2016 death of Deravis Caine Rogers, 22. Prosecutors say Burns was responding to a suspicious person call when he fired shots into a car driven by Rogers, killing him. In September 2018, a new indictment reinstated felony murder charges against the former officer barely a month after Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard dropped the original indictment. The new indictment charged Burns with aggravated assault and violating his oath of office.
DOMINIQUE HEAGGAN-BROWN
Heaggan-Brown, a black Milwaukee police officer, was acquitted in June 2017 of first-degree reckless homicide after shooting 23-year-old Sylville Smith during a foot chase in August 2016. Heaggan-Brown was fired after unrelated sexual-assault allegations surfaced.
PETER LIANG
Liang, a rookie police officer in New York City, was convicted of manslaughter in 2016 for the 2014 death of 28-year-old Akai Gurley. Liang, an American of Chinese descent, said he was patrolling a public housing high-rise with his gun drawn when a sound startled him and he fired accidentally. A bullet ricocheted off a wall, hitting Gurley. A judge reduced the conviction to negligent homicide and sentenced Liang to five years’ probation and 800 hours of community service.
ROY OLIVER
Oliver was convicted of murder in the 2017 death of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Oliver, a white police officer in the Dallas suburb of Balch Springs, fired into a car packed with black teenagers, killing Edwards.
RYAN POWNALL
Pownall is charged with third-degree murder for the 2017 death of 30-year-old David Jones, who was shot in the back as he fled. Pownall, who is white, was fired from the Philadelphia police force last year. He is awaiting trial.
MICHAEL ROSFELD
In March, Rosfeld was acquitted in the shooting death of 17-year-old Antwon Rose Jr. after the teen fled from a traffic stop on June 19 in Pennsylvania.
BETTY SHELBY
Shelby, who was a white police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was acquitted of manslaughter after shooting 40-year-old Terence Crutcher in 2016. Crutcher, who was black, was unarmed. Shelby resigned from the Tulsa Police Department and later went to work for an area sheriff’s office.
MICHAEL SLAGER
Slager pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges after killing 50-year-old Walter Scott in 2015. The white North Charleston police officer fired at Scott’s back from 17 feet (5 meters) away. Slager was sentenced to 20 years in prison in December 2017. His conviction was appealed and upheld.
JASON STOCKLEY
Stockley, a white St. Louis police officer, was acquitted of murder in 2017 in the 2011 shooting death of 24-year-old Anthony Lamar Smith. Stockley insisted he saw Smith holding a gun and felt that he was in imminent danger. Prosecutors accused Stockley of planting a gun in Smith’s car.
RAYMOND TENSING
Tensing, a white University of Cincinnati police officer, was tried twice for murder after he killed Samuel DuBose, whom he pulled over for driving without a front license plate in 2015. DuBose, who was black, was unarmed. The jury was hung both times and the charges were dismissed. Tensing received $350,000 from the university when he agreed to resign.
JERONIMO YANEZ
Yanez, a police officer in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, was charged with second-degree manslaughter after he fatally shot a 32-year-old black motorist, Philando Castile, in 2016. Yanez, who is Latino, was acquitted in June 2017. He has left the police department.
ANDREW DELKE
Delke, a white police officer in Nashville, Tennessee, was charged with criminal homicide in the death of 25-year-old Daniel Hambrick after surveillance footage appeared to show him chasing the black man and opening fire as he fled from the officer in July. Delke claims Hambrick pointed a gun at him, but prosecutors question that claim. A grand jury indicted Delke in January on a charge of first-degree murder.
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