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CONTACT: Richard Millington, Director of Communications
Email: caribbeaninstitute@gmail.com
New York Caribbean Institute Calls for Dallas Police officer who killed St. Lucian national in his own home to be charged with murder
BROOKLYN: BROOKLYN: The New York based Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID) on Friday harshly condemned the killing of 26 year-old St. Lucian national and Dallas, Texas resident, Botham Shem Jean. Jean was shot and killed around 10:00 p.m Thursday night, September 6, 2018 in his own home, by a female Dallas police officer. The officer told investigators that she returned home from her shift and entered the wrong apartment in her building.
In a statement issued Friday, CGID President, Rickford Burke, said the officer’s negligent, reckless conduct and depraved indifference to human life resulted in murder. He consequently called on Dallas District Attorney Faith Johnson to prosecute the officer accordingly and to the fullest extent of the law.
Burke said “the culture of policing that has emerged in black communities all across America is one where cops shoot to kill first, then ask questions after.” He asserted that “Police officers are killing black men while walking innocently on the streets, driving innocently in our cars and now while living innocently in our own home. This is too much for a people to bear. CGID therefore calls on the US Justice Department to review and revise the protocols for armed engagement by law enforcement in America.”
Burke said “CGID intends to write our US Senators and Members of Congress from New York, to push for a national review and reform of protocols on how and when law enforcement officers engage in the use of force. This is long overdue. How many more black men must be killed before we take action?” Burke posited that “politicians who sit by and do nothing about the epidemic of law enforcement murders of innocent black men are equally complicit in these killings and should be held to account.”
Dallas police department Friday issued a statement claiming that the officer called for help and told responding officers “she entered the victim’s apartment believing that it was her own.” The incident took place at South Side Flats, an upscale apartment complex located in downtown, Dallas, a few blocks from Police headquarters.
Dallas Police said the officer was in full uniform and “fired her weapon striking the victim who was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead. Burke blasted the Dallas Police for not releasing details about how the officer reached into Jean’s apartment and whether a breathalyzer was administered, as would have been the case with an ordinary citizen. He also questioned how Jean’s name was released to the public when Police simultaneously confirmed that the next of kin notification was not made.
The CGID head said the officer’s story is inexplicable and implausible. Emphasizing that Caribbean community believes the officer’s account strains credulity, Burke questioned its veracity saying “if she went to the wrong apartment how did she make initial contact with Mr. Jean? How do you mistakenly shoot your neighbor who you see and presumably interact with regularly, without recognizing him? “The Dallas Police chief expressly stated that her department is no longer pursuing a “police involved shooting investigation,” but is seeking a warrant pursuant to a manslaughter investigation. Clearly the police evidence suggests that this is not an accident and that the officer’s account contradicts the evidence. Hence, in the interest of transparency CGID calls on the Dallas Police Department to stop disseminating misinformation and disclosed the facts and circumstances of Mr. Jean’s death forthwith, lest it is viewed as concealment,” Burke contended.
the US to study accounting at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. He also studied at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, in Castries, St. Lucia before migrating to the US. At the time of his death, he worked in Dallas as a risk assurance associate for accounting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers.
CGID Has called on all Caribbean American organizations and nationals to condemn Jean’s killing and to support and express solidarity with his family.
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687 responses to “Dallas Police Officer Murders St. Lucian”
If a trained police officer discharged their weapon with intent to kill, then there are only two possible conclusions: murder or justifiable homicide. This was not justifiable, therefore it is murder.
The fact that she is a police officer does not remove a motive of a woman driven by rage with multiple factors attached one of which i suspect to be a jealoius lover rage
What if they were wrestling for
The gun
@Lawson
If they were wrestling for the gun it could be justifiable homicide, but not manslaughter.
@Mariposa
There is as yet no credible evidence that the murderer knew her victim. It is possible, but we do not yet know.
You are flailing in desperation PLT, trying to fit your hopes to facts not in evidence. You are a child.
@Mariposa
The racism that is apparent is structural not personal. It lies in the fact that she was not arrested on the scene, and in the fact that she has apparently been charged with manslaughter instead of murder.
Black man shot by white police officer.Not on the street, not in a car, not during a robbery or a gun battle
but in HIS OWN WRASSE WHOLE APARTMENT.
MURDERED SHOT SLAYED EXECUTED whatever you choose to call it.
My empathy is with his family and friends.
@45govt
Just ad hominem again… so sad.
Everything that I’ve told you is a proven fact. You are unable to contest a single solitary element. But you still do not wish to learn from the facts of the incident and the facts of the applicable criminal law.
@ peterlawrencethompson,
It is likely a strategy by the police to delay charges so she could get her story straight. They look after their own by that is becoming more difficult because everybody has a cellphone with video recording.
@45govt
I challenge you… point out a fact that I have asserted which is “not in evidence.”
Would a Mexican have faired better
@Peter
You could have added how the traditional media is reporting the story as routine.
@PLT, you have presented your unshakeable position that this officer is guilty of murder and ….you may be right. However, you are using some incredible leaps of logic, entrenched profiling tropes and misleading perspectives to get to your position…why?
#1…which training manual are you relying upon to direct that “…a trained police officer …knows how to shoot to disable”.
I am not aware of that….as far as I know they are trained to SHOOT TO KILL!…Given the scenario she has posited of an intruder in supposedly HER apartment there is no doubt she would have implemented that training guidance.
#2 The charges are being explored as we write…why this mad rush (even by Jean’s family) to get a specific indictment completed …as the evidence unfolds the changes will be upgraded accordingly …there is time enough before this gets to trial.
The wrangle of a manslaughter or murder charge is fundamentally a waste of time now and serves only to drive a political and social justice publicity narrative there in Dallas…the simple fact is that the officer was arrested and arraigned; will face a grand jury soon enough; is surely suspended or placed on administrative leave until further notice; and could have her bail revoked if evidence demands it.
Thus I am confounded that you can offer reasoned analysis of the Goddards affair but adopt such unfounded claims here…on what basis is this initial charge “… transparently racist, a product of White privilege multiplied by police impunity”.
I can only presume that the Black PO in Minnesota who accidentally killed the white lady in that alley after she had called 911 about a possible intruder/rape was also covered by your assertion of “transparently racist, a product of White privilege multiplied by police impunity”.
He was eventually charged with murder too BTW
Why this need to rush to wild judgements in these cases! SMH!
@PLT you don’t KNOW any facts you moron, so of course neither I nor anyone else can refute your ravings.
PS DPD is right, NO police officer or military is taught to aim to wound. That way you get killed – you aim for centre mass. You have watched too much TV, and what brain you may once have possessed has rotted.
@de pedantic Dribbler
It is such a delight to engage in rational discussion.
#1 You may have a point. My knowledge is of RCMP training procedure in Canada which may well not be applicable in Texas.
#2 The mad rush was the attempt by the police to characterize the crime as manslaughter rather than do an investigation and get evidence.
The comparison with the case of a Black police shooting a White victim in Minnesota is instructive. Did the police leave him at liberty for several days after that incident? Did the police immediately characterize the incident as manslaughter before conducting an investigation?
@45govt
The RCMP are taught to de-escalate situations… this includes multiple ways to inflict non lethal force
@PLT
You are right. Only US police – warrior police, a direct result of the defeat in Vietnam – shoot to kill. Police in most civilised societies shoot to disarm.
Real life crime story in Toronto.
“Barely a minute after his arrival, officer Forcillo fired three shots. Mr. Yatim, who was still inside the streetcar, fell on his back. Six seconds passed. No one said a word. Then Officer Forcillo fired six more shots into the teenager’s prone body.”
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/the-sammy-yatim-case-when-policing-goes-wrong/article31174172/
Hal Austin, I’m sorry, that is rubbish. Just today the inquest into the (black) muslim’s multiple murders in Westminster showed that he was mercifully shot 3 times by a protection officer and terminated.
This BS about shooting to wound is just that – BS.
OK. You know about these things.
I present a theory .one which is more plausible than a black man was killed by a white policeman hence racism which was the rallying cry told on social media
The fact being that the racist theory made light before any evidence to convict was made
Hence you PTL trying to erase what was said earlier in social media and the press in reference to the racist theory does not void any earlier statements heard driven along the lines of racism
Furthermore for you to join the bandwagon of a conclusion that a process not to charge the police officer for murder is in its self racist is idiotic without u knowning all the facts.
Maybe on this case u need to hang your head a little low after you show your bias in the Charles Herbert case a case where there was enough evidence showing he hired a drug dealer and Charles Herbert was on a luxury yatch which was laden with over a million dollars worth of drugs and you simply ignore the truth in favour of your friend
Along those facts i draw a conclusion that you can be bias any time when it fits your agenda
@45govt
So you are comparing a police officer who protects lives from a terrorist by using lethal force to another police officer who murders an innocent Black christian man after breaking and entering into the man’s apartment… just checking
@Mariposa September 10, 2018 5:17 PM
Go and read what I posted; it has been 100% consistent. I never bought, quoted, or repeated the social media allegations that are unproven. I looked only at the facts from the moment the case became public.
By the way, with respect to the Herbert case I happen to be in possession of facts which are not in the public domain. I will bet you $100 that he will be found not guilty in a jury trial… after I take your money I will donate it to the charity of your choice. Are we on?…
re You could have added how the traditional media is reporting the story as routine.
Do you mean like how the traditional media has/has not reported this story?
https://steadfastandloyal.com/celebrities/how-the-mighty-hath-fallen-obama-attracts-750-to-rally-vs-trumps-massive-numbers/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=subscriber_id:1072512&utm_campaign=Muslim%20Democratic%20State%20House%20Candidate%20Says%20That%20the%20Real%20Victims%20of%209/11%20are%20Muslims%20%5BVIDEO%5D
PTL but you are not in possession of evidence to conclude that the charges of manslaughter was racially bias
Furthemore as to Herbert case what evidence could u be in possession to say that he is innocent
Your bias in the Herbert case floated to the top as it is with your propensity to shout racism without having evidence
@PLT it is like talking to a wall with you. YOU DO NOT KNOW ANTHING ABOUT THIS CASE, and are simply applying your own bias to an outcome you are desperate for. You need professional help.
@Mariposa September 10, 2018 5:43 PM
As I have very plainly pointed out the rush by the police to characterize the crime as only manslaughter before investigating it is obvious evidence of White privilege and police impunity. The decision of the police to decline to take the assailant into custody at the crime scene on the night of the crime is obvious evidence of White privilege and police impunity.
Go back and actually read everything that I posted. I never called anyone involved in this sad affair a racist. I simply pointed out obvious White privilege. If you cannot tell the difference then you cannot understand plain English.
PTL
I never bought, quoted, or repeated the social media allegations that are unproven. I looked only at the facts from the moment the case became public.
And what were the facts?My recollection says that the only fact stated was a police female officer mistakenly went to a house which she thought where she lived and killed a black man
Other than that what other facts can u have that would render a conclusion on your part that the charges are founded on a racist notion in favour of the policewoman
Andv
@45govt September 10, 2018 5:49 PM
Yet again with the ad hominem attacks because you cannot dispute rationally the plain facts that I have stated.
DPD pointed out that I should not assume that Texas police training is anything like Canadian police training and I immediately conceded the point because that is what grownups do.
The facts remain the facts. This policewoman shot an innocent man to death after breaking into his apartment. Under the US criminal code manslaughter is an offence where there is a loss of life but where the assailant does not intend to cause loss of life. If we see credible evidence that the policewoman demonstrated intent in pulling the trigger then she shouldn’t be charged with manslaughter, but with murder. The police should investigate and gather ALL the evidence, then the prosecutor should make a determination about whether to charge with first degree, second degree, or third degree murder and the case should go to trial unless she accepts a plea bargain.
Ad hominem attacks are strong evidence of a weak mind.
@Mariposa September 10, 2018 6:02 PM
“the only fact stated was a police female officer mistakenly went to a house which she thought where she lived and killed a black man”
+++++++++++++++++++++
WRONG! That she “mistakenly went to a house which she thought where she lived” is an unproven assertion that she made as part of her cover story. It has not yet been established to be fact.
Fact #1. This policewoman shot an innocent man to death after breaking into his apartment.
Fact #2. Under the US criminal code manslaughter is an offence where there is a loss of life but where the assailant does not intend to cause loss of life.
Fact #3. Under the US criminal code if there is loss of life in con junction with intent to cause loss of life then it is either a murder of some degree or a justifiable homicide.
Fact #4. The police department declared that she would be charged with manslaughter before accomplishing a thorough investigation.
Fact #5. The police department declined to arrest the policewoman at the scene of the crime but left her at liberty for several days without even interviewing her extensively. This would have given her time to rehearse her cover story.
We can add facts to this list as they come to light in the investigation.
@PLT…we live in a REAL GRITTY world and lots of nasty stuff happens every minute of every day…the average patrol officer/first responder will likely handle a lot of man’s gore and grime during a shift …
So to your query re *”Did the police leave him at liberty…? Did the police immediately characterize the incident as manslaughter…?” *
I have not reviewed the specifics of that Minnesota case but the very simple fact is that NONE of that is really relevant to a final conviction …just VITALLY IMPORTANT for political consumption.
And let’s be clear the standard procedure if a cop is involved in a shooting incident with a citizen will be 1] placed on leave to avoid contaminating/affecting the investigation 2) mandated drug and other tests to determine state of mind at time of incident 3) and BECAUSE it’s a cop they are treated much more deferentially by their colleagues.
It is impractical to expect that a PO is going to be perp walked or immediately arrested in cases like this as would happen to a regular citizen….impractical and unreal!
…UNLESS its a blatant case of deranged police criminal activity do you really expect that a cop will be immediately apprended in a case of suspected police wrong doing?? Come on….
And back to that Minnesota case…if the PO was caucasian and the victim Black then OMG….
Don’t misinterpret me to be suggesting that Black folks are NOT terribly disadvantaged by cops …absolutely they are….but cops black or white are treated especially different by their brethren so why expect water to flow uphill!
BTW you seem to know more than most or you are a provocative fiction writer….on what basis can you offer: “…by using lethal force to another police officer who murders an innocent Black christian man after breaking and entering into the man’s apartment.”
So she broke and entered into her ‘own apt’ you are opining as FACTUAL in another canyon leap of logic…Come on bro…you are automatically suggesting she had to have premeditated fore thought because one certainly never needs to break into their own home!
….what do you know that we don’t.
You are as bad as Trump with his incendiary type half true remarks to rile his base…that style of mischievous and implausible rhetoric is BAD regardless of the speaker.
Are we going to discuss the colonisation of the South-East corner of St Philip, including the privatisation of Skeete’s Bay, by an Irish-Canadian – and with the prime minister fawning over him like he is the man in charge of hand-outs? Why is there no public consultation about this development – and I do not mean the silly town hall meetings?
And too that she is STUPID…how can you break into a home and then claim you thought it was yours!
According to you @PLT this is a cut and dried case of premeditation. Amazing how the vaunted Texas Rangers haven’t determined that yet. 🤣
BTW I believe that have the same type of ‘we get our man’ reputation of your RCMP…they supposedly are good st what they do.
Anyhow…I gone.
…I believe THEY have the same type of ‘we get our man’ reputation …..
@de pedantic Dribbler September 10, 2018 6:20 PM
The FACT is that it was Mr. Jean’s apartment. Her CLAIM is that she thought it was her own.
@de pedantic Dribbler September 10, 2018 6:32 PM
There is absolutely no evidence of premeditation. Second and Third degree murders are those without premeditation (except in NY where First degree is reserved for multiple premeditated or murdering a cop).
The Black cop who shot a White woman dead by mistake in Minnesota is being charged with Third degree murder.
Ohhhhh…you are using ‘breaking and entering’ in that strict sense.
Then double shame on you .🤣…you juxtapose the two things to suggest she ‘forcibly entered’ the home when you simply mean she was an univited guest in a dwelling not her own…into which she could simply have opened an unlocked or ajar door….thus making HER fable understandable.
Tut tut…very mischievous reasoning…you appear to be a tricky trial lawyer and management guru 🤣
@de pedantic Dribbler September 10, 2018 6:32 PM
If Mr. Jean’s door was unlocked and she walked straight in that is still breaking and entering under the law.
If she forced the door open in any way that is still breaking and entering under the law.
If Mr Jean opened his door upon hearing noise outside and she then forced her way in at gunpoint then that is still breaking and entering under the law.
@de pedantic Dribbler September 10, 2018 6:45 PM
“Ohhhhh…you are using ‘breaking and entering’ in that strict sense.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Yes. Death of innocent people by police gunshot tends to bring out the strict legal sense in me. 😉
@Peter
You are pelting licks left right and centre on the blog today.
PTL. How did you arrive at a notion of illegal entry by the policewoman
The story that the policewoman tells does in no way lend itself to any form of illegal entry
In order for that woman to enter she would have a key or the man let her in
The policeman investigation talks mostly about motive which by all accounts dismiss any theory or conclusion of illegal entry
@Mariposa September 10, 2018 7:19 PM
From my post at 6:46 PM:
If Mr. Jean’s door was unlocked and she walked straight in that is still breaking and entering under the law.
If she forced the door open in any way that is still breaking and entering under the law.
If Mr Jean opened his door upon hearing noise outside and she then forced her way in at gunpoint then that is still breaking and entering under the law.
The only way it is not breaking and entering under the law is if Mr. Jean invited her inside, as might have happened if there was a previous connection between the two people. But there is no evidence so far that these two people knew each other.
Well what do you know, someone got witness and video evidence.
“On Sunday night, Merritt told reporters that he recently presented a witness and video evidence to the Dallas district attorney’s office that could “change the course of the investigation” and secure an arrest.
Guyger, who is still on administrative leave from the department, is currently free on $300,000 bail.”
Your theories are all speculative and does not form any basis to what public been told
Most likely if there was illegal entry the police report would have so stated
On the theory that Jean might have opened his door upon hearing noise is most unlikely in the real world that we live in.
I think u should stop watching old reruns of ironside and the guy in the trench coat ( cant remember his name)
At the end of the day, whether they knew each other or not, were involved or not…SHE IS LYING…there is witness AND video evidence to get her charges upgraded to murder…damn idiot, the man got a red carpet in front HIS door, she has none at hers, his apartment number is different to hers…so she don’t know her own apartment number….steuppps..
Yeh she sounds really dumb …..a relation of yours
@Mariposa September 10, 2018 7:58 PM
Don’t you get it yet?? If she was in the apartment without an explicit invitation from Mr. Jean it was legally breaking and entering, even if she did it by mistake.