Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson is calling for “calm in our communities” while promising that a round-the-clock investigation wages on in the shooting death of Botham Jean.
A message posted to the D.A.’s website Monday afternoon called the investigation into Dallas officer Amber Guyger – who has admitted to shooting and killing Jean in his apartment on Sept. 6 – a “top priority” and asked the community to “allow the legal process to work.”
“I want to stress that a rush to judgment serves no one,” the message reads. “I am asking citizens to have faith and patience during the investigation process.”
The statement promised to leave “no stone unturned” in the investigation.
Guyger shot Jean in his own eastern Dallas apartment Sept. 6 after she claims she mistook his apartment for hers and thought he was an intruder. Guyger had worked a 13-hour shift that day and was in uniform when she returned to the apartment complex.
Dallas police turned the investigation over to the Texas Rangers three days after the shooting. That agency completed an initial investigation and turned it over to the district attorney’s office.
The D.A.’s office has been conducting its own investigation since the night of the shooting. A team of three prosecutors, four investigators, a victim’s rights coordinator and a forensic analyst is now working the case for Johnson’s office.
“The District Attorney’s Office becomes involved to ensure a fully transparent and unbiased investigation conducted by an independent, uninvolved law enforcement agency,” Monday’s message reads.
“While I understand that many citizens are outraged over the shooting and have a lot of unanswered questions right now, I urge you to allow the legal process to work. I can assure you that my team is working night and day to get to the bottom of what happened on the night of September 6.”
Activists and community members have been restless in the wake of the shooting, organizing several rallies in Dallas and even outside AT&T Stadium ahead of the Cowboys’ primetime game against the New York Giants Sunday night.
Questions have swirled about the circumstances leading up to the shooting. Claims that Guyger found the door “slightly ajar” have been rebutted by attorneys citing accounts from neighbors who allegedly heard Guyger banging on the door. Door locks were taken from Guyger's and Jean's apartment.
Rumors that Guyger and Jean knew each other have been debunked by police sources and the Jean family’s legal team.
“Releasing details of any case before an investigation is completed is extremely detrimental,” Johnson’s statement reads. “It can cause evidence to be thrown out or allow a change of venue in a trial in the event a jury pool is tainted by leaked information.”
Late last week, Jean attorneys were outraged by the release of a search warrant that discovered marijuana in Jean’s apartment. The search warrant, though, is routine during a criminal investigation.
In cases where a person cannot voluntarily give consent for a search, then law requires investigators to obtain a search warrant. Otherwise, investigators would risk that the evidence that was obtained would later be thrown out by a judge.