FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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.
–END—
687 responses to “Dallas Police Officer Murders St. Lucian”
^illegally
BU has too many lawyers..
Olivia and Enuff on the Stewart case
Mariposa being a lawyer over here..
I gun dead..
PTL i say you are speculating there are no statements given by police or investigating reporting that suggest a break in of any kind
The point that you are trying to indicate that her entering the apt without permission is illegal (is mute )as no evidence presented so far has come forth to show such occurred
As a police officer one would belive she knows the basic rule of law about illegal entry
Her story does not hold water. What is the truth well i guess we all have to wait and see
The simplicity of her story ask more questions than give answers because unless one is hallucinating or have amnesia or Alzheimer it is hard to comprehend her actions of going to the wrong house and killing an innoncent man without having a reason or motive
And when ya see Lawson melting like an Icee on a hot day…ya done know..lol
What’s amazing to me is two bajans are killed in Jamaica No speculation why because they probably were oft by some black guys. Why are you more interested in st lucia problems
Good question Lawson
Good question on that one i will leave PTL to speculate
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/10/us/dallas-police-shooting-guyger-jean.html?action=click&module=In%20Other%20News&pgtype=Homepage&action=click&module=Latest&pgtype=Homepage
Lee Merritt, a lawyer for Mr. Jean’s family, challenged several aspects of the officer’s account, including her claim that the door was ajar. He said witnesses had told the district attorney’s office that they heard banging on the door and a woman’s voice saying, “Let me in.”
Even if Officer Guyger did mistake the apartment — which has a distinctive red doormat outside — for her own, he said, there is no indication that Mr. Jean acted aggressively to make the officer fear for her life.
“It would be irresponsible to rely on this extremely bizarre, self-serving affidavit,” said Mr. Merritt, who has also questioned why the authorities did not immediately arrest Officer Guyger.
If a black man had gone into a white woman’s apartment and shot her dead, it is certain that he would have immediately been taken into custody.
Or shot dead on the spot by the responding officers.
@Hal Austen . 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
I’ve had the opportunity of sharing a shooting range in the Rhine Army with the local German Police. Using the typical figure 11 target, we the military, were scoring maximum points when the target was struck in the heart, or upper body area. The German Police were scoring their maximum points in the leg area and zero in the heart or upper body area.
I thought the DA said on the news tonight, it would go to a Grand Jury to determine the charge, prior to the trial itself. The DA is not satisfied with manslaughter.
@ Col Buggy..
“….we the military, were scoring maximum points when the target was struck in the heart, or upper body area. The German Police were scoring their maximum points in the leg area and zero in the heart or upper body area.”
That would be really useful against terrorists, and while you seem to be right, I very much doubt that they are persisting with that nonsense now, facing the reality of rampant third world immigrant crime. Possibly with long arms that policy is sustainable, but NOT with handguns.
“Police in the US, Australia and UK have almost identical rules that direct officers to aim for the torso.
In an interview with Australia’s ABC News, former Detective Inspector Terry Goldsworthy says shooting to wound “was not how police are trained”. “If you pull out a firearm, the intention is to kill … that’s why it’s called lethal force. If you’re not happy with killing someone you should not be pulling out your firearm.”
And a recent Guardian analysis says “[UK officers] are trained to target the centre of the chest as it is the quickest way to ‘neutralise’ a suspect, even though it is highly likely that this will kill”.”
The officer in this case who the sages PLT and WARU apparently KNOW committed murder was involved in a previous shooting incident after a felon seized her Taser. Now, off duty, as she was, that Taser would likely be in a charger at her station.
Which of us faced with an armed felon will bother with arms or legs outside a shooting range target? Not me.
Mr Blogmaster, the headline is telling about possible conviction….the mere insinuation that “in His Own Home” a man is killed because “He Ignored Her Commands” pronounces guilty!
Yet for all that this is still a terrible tragedy and when the white-black dynamic is filtered for its uneccessary racial distress her conviction by a jury on murder or manslaughter or a lesser charge will hinge on the veracity of her claims that she thought she was in her own apt.
Thus far that wall of her defense hinges on her state of mind and unless it can be determined if she was impaired in ANY way it appears then she simply lost it mentally due to abject tiredness or pure negligent intent…
Evidence points to Mr Jean’s apt being DIFFERENT because he had a red mat at his front door…how did the officer NOT notice that in a lit corridor? Did she have an identical mat too?
So THUS FAR this is a tragic set of DEADLY ERRORS with its serious concern of impaired judgement and negligent indifference…a menu for harsh punishment after conviction surely….but it is NOT on the evidence a toxic, racial police shooting incident!
Is the Guardian newspaper an authority on policing? This is another example of the disservice that Googling does to the accumulation of knowledge. There are two broad strategies taught to police in the use of firearms: the warrior strategy and the guardian strategy. One aims to shoot to kill, the other to disarm.
@de pedantic Dribbler September 11, 2018 7:32 AM
“… but it is NOT on the evidence a toxic, racial police shooting incident!”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
You are correct that the shooting was “… DEADLY ERRORS with its serious concern of impaired judgement and negligent indifference…” but you are ignoring the White privilege and police impunity glaringly obvious in the response of both the police and the American news media.
You are ignoring mad rush by the police to characterize the crime as manslaughter rather than do an investigation and get evidence.
You are ignoring the fact that she was not apprehended and interviewed deeply until she turned herself in several days after the crime.
You are ignoring the fact that the media bought her cover story hook line and sinker and reported it as fact.
You are ignoring the way the media and police are trying to shift the blame to Mr. Jean for “ignoring her commands.”
@ Hal Austin – not so. Modern POs have recourse to non lethal weapons such as beanbag loads and Tasers. When a handgun or carbine is employed it is to centre mass.
There is no place for the so-called ‘guardian’ nonsense at that stage as quarters are usually too close – average seven feet for handgun encounters if I recall rightly.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toronto/article-the-cop-who-didnt-shoot-shows-us-the-best-way-to-respond-to-terror/
45govt,
I am familiar with the Bajan (black and white) know-all culture, but have you ever worked in the criminal justice system? Or studied the subject? Or do you just Google and write crap?
I would not bore readers with details, but take it from me you are wrong – and I am out of any further discussion on the topic.
By the way, the Guardian is just one of 18 national newspapers in the UK, along with weekly magazines and journals, regional and local newspapers.
I wonder if anyone attempts to rob the armed G4 security guards in Barbados and they are shot dead if that would be justifiable homicide?
From AP:
“The affidavit prepared by a Texas Ranger was released Monday and appeared to be based almost entirely on Officer Amber Guyger’s account of the shooting of 26-year-old Botham Jean. Guyger was arrested Sunday on a manslaughter charge in the Thursday shooting.
The affidavit says Guyger mistook Jean’s apartment for hers and that his front door was ajar when she entered. She also told investigators that she shot Jean after he refused her verbal commands.
An attorney for Jean’s family, Lee Merritt, said at a news conference Monday evening that two independent witnesses have told him they heard knocking on the door in the hallway before the shooting.
He said one witness reported hearing a woman’s voice saying, “Let me in! Let me in!” Then they heard gunshots, after which one witness said she heard a man’s voice say, “Oh my God! Why did you do that?”
Merritt said he believes those were Jean’s last words.
Another lawyer for the family, Benjamin Crump, said the affidavit “is very self-serving.””
@ PLT
Boss, why don’t you redirect your focus on the mess we have in Barbados nuh?
People like Dribbles who CHOOSE to live among those that openly hate them need to develop a proactive ‘sense of ignorance and hope’ in order to get through each day…
Do you REALLY think that evidence of institutionalised discrimination – that even the haters themselves admit… will be enough to destroy Dribble’s cocoon of naivety?
Steupsss…
In addition, those who play with dogs should EXPECT to be bitten by flees…. Somebody should have told that to Jean….
PTL is concluding that because standard police procedure were not done as being similar to those which would have been taken had it be a blackperson doing the shooting he connects those procedures to racism
Now on that same equation i would like to ask PTL if the handling of this police shooting does not show a similarity in the way the police handle the accused in the drug smuggling case in which Charles Herbert is an accused
The officer is weaving together a bunch of lies
The door ajar ..mistaken home
Those statements can be easily refuted based on her and his timeline and events before the encounter
Also the hearing of a voice outside the dead man homes saying “let me in”
@Mariposa September 11, 2018 8:38 AM
The police in Barbados, for all their shortcomings, handled the Herbert drug smuggling case with far more professionalism than the Texas police are handling this case. Herbert was immediately taken into custody and held until an investigation was undertaken, charges laid, and bail arranged. That is how officer Guyger should have been treated in Texas.
How would you have felt if the RBPF had failed to detain Herbert, announced immediately, before investigating, that he would only be charged with possession, and issued statements to the media that Herbert knew nothing about the concealed drugs on the boat. THAT would be similar to the way the Texas police have handled this case.
@Bush Tea September 11, 2018 8:37 AM
“… why don’t you redirect your focus on the mess we have in Barbados nuh?”
++++++++++++++++++++++
Because it is the same mess; albino-centrism. Same circus, different monkeys.
You must nor refer to yourself as a monkey PLT, this self hated is depressing.
No @PLT, if you accept the base assessment of DEADLY ERRORS caused by impairment and/or indifference then I find it very hard that you expect a police officer NOT to be treated as she was in that scenario. You are not being realistic..
**EVERY criminal case can ONLY have comprehensive charges lodged after a full investigation…thus the BEST PRELIMINARY charge will always be lodged as most definitively charges are always UPGRADED as needed!…There is only a “mad rush” in this always on social media world.
**Do YOU know that she was not drug tested; her firearm confiscated for further testing; a full and comprehensive statement taken; and all other proper protocols taken to assure validity and integrity of all possible evidence??…..
….So what’s relevance that “she was not apprehended and interviewed deeply until she turned herself in several days after the crime”.
I have NEVER heard that a police officer was EVER “apprehended and interviewed deeply” after ANY police involved shooting incident. Repeat NEVER EVER heard of that (without their police union appointed lawyer)….Put another way …officers are treated ABSOLUTELY THE OPPOSITE to a regular citizen by their brethren.
** In the immediacy of such an incident like ALL SUCH incidents we ALL buy into the “cover story hook line and sinker”… as the media examines more closely the initial narrative is often destroyed…come on man!
Eg…what were the first stories of the 9-11 (anniversary day) attacks…not of a supposedly random crashing plane…a bit of an extreme comparison admitedly but it is look back day for that!
**No sir. Absolutely no one is trying to “shift the blame to Mr. Jean for ‘ignoring her commands’”. Headlines are provocative to grab attention and that narrative surely does that.
You DO NOT get blamed for ignoring any uninvited guest…even too an uniformed PO without a warrant in YOUR OWN HOME at 10PM.
Let’s get real and see the spin and verbiage for what it is…the tragedy is beyond traumatic…these useless innuendos in the media are quite unfortunate to put it mildly..
Anyhow I gone.
@45govt September 11, 2018 9:01 AM
Once in a while you might try posting something that is not an ad hominem attack. Really. Just for a change.
@ Hal Austin – yes, this is a subject I have studied, unlike you, clearly. You are wrong, you know you are wrong, so you run away. Good job moron.
Keep wondering, I feel sure that is a permanent state for you.
PTL dont u see a similarty where the lone blackman on the boat is being held to a different level of scrutiny while Charles and his friend are being absolved of any connections to the drug haul
All of the above witnessed in Barbados media outlets
ding dong merrily on high in heaven the bells are ringing
ding dong merily below, on bu the bullshit is flowing
refrain
A BLACK ST LUCIAN IS SHOT BY A WHITE POLICE WOMAN IN THE US AND THE BU BRIMBLERS ARE BARKING AND BRAYING DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY DONT HAVE ALL THE FACTS…… AFTER ALL IT IS ALWAYS SENSATIONAL WHEN A BLACK PERSON IS SHOT BY A WHITE PERSON IN THE US FOR IT ALLOWS THE BU BRIMBLERS TO BARK AND BRAY “RACISM”
WHEN TWO BAJANS ARE SHOT IN JAMAICA, THERRE IS NO BU BLOG ON THIS INCIDENT BECAUSE WHEN BLACKS KILL BLACKS THAT IS NOT WORTHY OF DISCUSSION AS ONE CAN NOT THEN SHOUT RACISM, AND THERE IS NO SENSATION IN SUCH A CASE
NONE OF WUNNA DONT KNOW WUH REALLY HAPPEN IN DALLAS
AND NONE OF WUNNAH CANT DO NUTTIN BOUT IT….EXCEPT TO TALK SHITE AND DISOBEY THE AXIOM THAT ONE CAN NOT ADJUDICATE EFFECTIVELY WITHOUT THE FACTS
HERE IS SOME SENSATION NOW
DAT BLACK BOY WILL BE BURIED OR CREMATED
IF HE KNEW THE LORD HE IS NOW ABSENT FROM THE BODY AND PRESENT WITH THE LORD, AND ONE DAY SOON HE WILL ASCEND WITH HIM AT THE RAPTURE AND RETURN WITH HIM AT THE EPIPHANAEA
IF HE DID NOT KNOW THE LORD HE WILL APPEAR AT THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT, WITHOUT RECOURSE
NOW WUNNAH CAN GO BACK TO STROKING WUNNAH EGOS AS WUNNAH PLAY COLUMBO, MATLOCK, PERRY MASON JESSICA FLETCHER, MISS MARPLE AND HERECULE POIROT
AS YOU DO THIS PLEASE KINDLY NOTE THAT ALL OF THESE CHARACTERS WHOM YOU ALL SEEK TO MIMIC RELIED ON THE FACTS!
ding dong merrily on high in heaven the bells are ringing
ding dong merily below, on bu the bullshit is flowing
refrain
Her cell phone would be crucial to the investigation
I ask again
What about the bajan boys in jamaica
Lawson,
Good point. I have told you before, Bajan conversational culture is based on the rum shop. It is waffle. To be intelligent in a rum shop is to be deviant. What about the Englishman whose body was found dumped?
@lawson
What do you want to know about the two unemployed young men murdered on a jaunt to Jamaica?
Even by your levels of snarky @BushTea you went very, very low 8:37 AM above.
You condemn millions of Black folks from Bdos and the region who worked diligently to seek knowledge in northern climes with your snide remark: “In addition, those who play with dogs should EXPECT to be bitten by flees…. Somebody should have told that to Jean….”
I know it’s easy to play that level of small island stupidity and have a lark on a blog so I’ll leave that as just that …your morning snark because as you asked @PLT to refocus on local issues you surely wanted his flea bitten input on how Bajans will deal with the biting “fleas” from those IMF “dogs”.
Somebody should have told Grantley et al and all those after him to beware the fleas too, I suspect.
You meow loudly bro, but you do a more outstanding job of chasing your tail …you may catch it one day!
Unfortunately Jean secret life would be of focus including what secrets found under his fingers nails during forensic examinations
David were they also killed by police??? were they on holiday,why were they there, has your govt filed a protest wanting to be involved in investigation what about their families are they being supported, are the bodies coming home etc etc
“What do you want to know about the two unemployed young men murdered on a jaunt to Jamaica?”
First the racial snark…: Did they go there on the instructions of a certain recent Board chairman and yachtsman?….Did they visit any white Jamaicans?…Do they have any white relatives in Bim? Were their tickets bought by one of those relatives? 🤣
The salacious snark…: Were they batty boys taken out for soliciting the wrong yardie?….Did they know that doctor in Elmont too and were killed to silence them?…Were they there with messages to the Jamaican PM as a deep, deep back channel from our PM in association with the local don who attended the first sitting of parliament ? Oh Lordie.
Oh and while we go over this nonsense perhaps one can remember there were over 1,600 crimes related killings in JA last year…and by some estimates over 600 thus far this year…
And as the NYT noted today over 2,000 people shot to date in US…and special mention of one 19 year Black young man who has been actively protesting the gun violence and death in his city of Chicago …and bang…bang he is gunned down after a basketball game….thats the REAL ttype tragedies of all this violence and hate.
The white -black issues are real but we really need to tamp down all the heightened rhetoric when it’s not NECESSARY!
@lawson
Not sure anybody cares except the family.
Lawson,
The first lesson in news reporting is that readers should not b left asking questions after reading a story (Who, What, When, Where, How). It seems journalists in Barbados have not heard of this basic principle.
@plt
The new pics are an improvement. Don’t worry, I am not thinking about your eyes😄
@September 11, 2018 2:40 AM “Which of us faced with an armed felon…”
Mr. Jean was NOT armed.
Mr. James was NOT a felon.
@de pedantic Dribbler September 11, 2018 7:32 AM “the mere insinuation that “in His Own Home”
How else would you describe a gentleman who was in his own home?
As “an armed felon” perhaps?
And it is not an insinuation.
The gentleman was indeed “in his own home”
@de pedantic Dribbler September 11, 2018 7:32 AM “due to abject tiredness…”
How do you know she was abjectly tired?
The woman is 30.
An ordinary day’s work should not cause a 30 year old to be abjectly tired.
Going on 70, and with a few chronic non-communicable diseases, I can still do 5 or 6 hours weeding with a hoe in 30 degree heat and near 100% humidity.
Abject tiredness what?
What if she was a single mother of 2 or 3 children and had a full time job, and stil had to look after her children when she got home?
What would she do?
Quit? Cry? Go on welfare?
A day’s work is just a day’s work.
Any 30 year old who is abjectly tired after a day’s work needs to hit the gym for an at least an hour every other day.
@Georgie Porgie September 11, 2018 9:32 AM “WHEN TWO BAJANS ARE SHOT IN JAMAICA, THERE IS NO BU BLOG ON THIS INCIDENT BECAUSE WHEN BLACKS KILL BLACKS.”
As my 4 year old gran would ask “how do you know?” that the two Bajans killed in Jamaica were killed by black people?
The Jamaican police have not yet made an arrest? They have not said that the suspects are black?
What if the suspects are WHITE Columbians?
As my 4 year old gran would ask “how do you know?”
Actually what they have said is that they found Barbados IDs that support the position the two killed are as reported. They are waiting on the results of the autopsy.
@Lawson September 11, 2018 10:29 AM “I ask again. What about the bajan boys in Jamaica.”
RE: The two young MEN, not boys, killed in Jamaica, the Jamaican police are investigating. The Bajan families are distressed. The Jamaica police are communicating with the Bajan families, and police.
@Hal Austin September 11, 2018 10:34 AM “What about the Englishman whose body was found dumped?”
The police have investigated. People have been arrested and charged.
The English man’s family has been/are distressed.
@lawson September 11, 2018 11:21 AM “David were they also killed by police??? were they on holiday,why were they there,”
According to report’s on VOB yesterday from the sister of one of the men, even though they are next door neighbors she did not know that he was out of the island. She did not know that he had gone to Jamaica. So presumably whatever business he had in Jamaica, he did not want his sister, who is distressed/devastated “because he is my brother” I who I presume loved him, he did not want his sister up in his business.
A fair number of men [not I repeat NOT all men] are disrespectful to their female kin, mothers, sisters, girlfriends, wives, daughters, granddaughters etc.
And yes I know that whitehill will get me for this TRUTH.