Amber Guyger was finally fired from the Dallas Police Department, more than two weeks after she shot and killed Botham Shem Jean after barging into his apartment late at night after she allegedly mistook it for her own.
The Dallas Police Department announced Guyger’s termination on Twitter, noting that the decision followed an internal affairs investigation.
— Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) September 24, 2018
The memo noted that Guyger still has the right to appeal her termination.
Prior to the announcement of Guyger’s termination, just last week in fact, Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall had implied that her hands were tied and she was not able to fire Guyger for her actions, due to local, state, and federal laws, even as protesters called for Guyger’s termination.
It seems now, however, that Hall’s hands were not as tied as she thought, and it is worth noting she has yet to specify which laws to which she was referring to.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Hall’s chief of staff Thomas Taylor said that the internal investigation was on hold until the criminal investigation into the incident had finished. Then on Thursday, Hall released a statement saying that she did not want to interfere with the criminal investigation by deciding whether or not to fire Guyger.
“As an employer, DPD can compel Officer Guyger to provide a statement during a DPD administrative investigation and those statements given to DPD could potentially compromise the criminal investigation,” Hall said in a written statement, according to the Morning News.
Now it seems, regardless of all of that, and regardless of the criminal investigation, which is not yet complete, Hall has had a change of heart.
Guyger is currently facing manslaughter charges in Jean’s death, and has been free on bond since turning herself in for the shooting. The Dallas Police Department handed over the investigation to the Texas Rangers, who are still investigating the incident.