From the street near Dallas Police Headquarters bearing his name to the mural depicting the young professional, Botham Jean is remembered and beloved for his faith and heart.
“Today is a difficult day for me and also for the church,” Pastor Berry said. “Especially when we think about how Botham died.”
The 2018 killing of Jean garnered international attention and outrage when he was shot by Amber Guyer, an off-duty Dallas Police Department patrol officer who entered his apartment thinking it was her own.
“That was the one case that really truly got people to see we have a problem in this country,” said Daryl Washington, Jean family attorney.
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Convicted of murder, Guyger is serving a 10-year sentence in Gatesville. She’s lost appeals but could be eligible for parole in two years.
“Every single day, I miss him,” Allisa Charles-Findley, Jean’s sister, said. “Today is just a reminder that it has been four years since I last spoke to him.”
Charles-Findley said her world went dark that day. Speaking from Saint Lucia, she has gone home to be close to family and Jean, who is buried there.
REMEMBERING BOTHAM JEAN
Visiting his gravesite this morning, Charles-Findley said time does not heal all wounds.
“The anniversaries get harder,” she said. “The pain gets stronger.”
Through therapy and by writing a book, “After Botham,” Charles-Findley found her faith again.
“The book is really my journey from losing Botham to just on my path of healing,” she said. The book is expected to be out next year.
Loved ones applaud changes made to policing including an executive order signed this year that reforms practices. Additionally, a state law bearing Botham’s name requires officers to keep body cameras on during investigations.
“What we have to realize is that young Black men are people too,” Pastor Berry said. “I’m not a threat to you just because I’m Black, I’m male and I’m big. I think that mindset has to change.”
Attorney Daryl Washington said a civil suit against the city, Guyger and the apartment complex is still not over.
“As egregious as this case was that this family should not still be going through this four years later,” Washington said.
For now, they ask that you not forget Botham’s name and the way he lived his life.
“It’s a fear of mine that, you know, as the years go by, people forget Botham Jean,” Charles-Findley said. “I don’t want that to happen. He was such a bright light and I just want to keep his name.”
JEAN'S DEATH PROMPTS CHANGES IN THE SCOPE OF THE COMMUNITY POLICE OVERSIGHT BOARD
Since Jean’s death, changes have been made to expand the scope of the city’s Community Police Oversight Board. Tonya McClary is Dallas’ first ever police oversight monitor – a position created after the tragedy. She spoke with NBC 5 about those changes and why they were critical.
McClary was there when officials renamed a portion of Lamar Street in honor of Botham Jean. Exactly four years since his death, she’s reflective.
“I was really just kind of thinking about him today and thinking about his family and just a vibrant young man he was and would have been,” she said.
Recently, the board’s 15 members faced criticism from Dallas Police Association President Mike Mata, who said they have a lack of understanding of what officers do. McClary said today, on this anniversary, it’s a good time to remind the community why the community oversight board exists.
“I want the city to know, now whenever there is an officer-involved shooting, whenever there is a death in custody, I get notified at the same time as internal affairs,” said McClary.
Responsibilities have evolved since its inception, going from a review board to what it is today. The push to strengthen the oversight board predates the death of Botham Jean. But people who were involved in those efforts for years said it was what happened on the night of Sept. 6, 2018, that made the difference in giving the board investigative powers.
“This board actually has teeth,” said McClary. “This board has made several recommendations to the police department that have been adopted.”
Recommendations made to the Dallas Police Department include a 72-hour body cam and video release policy, how to handle people suffering from excited delirium, and recommendations on misdemeanor marijuana possession.
As she remembers Botha Jean, McClary more than ever, transparency is needed. The Community Police Oversight Board recently launched an online portal for citizens wanting to file officer complaints. Two additional programs will launch this fall. One will be a ‘Know Your Rights Campaign.’ McClary said they also plan to implement a mediation policy, allowing citizens to sit and talk to officers about their grievances.
