White police woman who fatally shot and killed a black man in his apartment gets 10-year sentence

The white former police officer who shot and killed her unarmed black neighbor in his own apartment was sentenced on Wednesday to 10 years in prison — the conclusion of a dramatic trial that spotlighted issues of racial injustice, police accountability and the extraordinary capacity of a victim’s family to forgive a perpetrator.

Amber Guyger, 31, could have faced up to 99 years in the 2018 slaying of Botham Jean, a 26-year-old St. Lucia native, church singer and accountant whose death drew protesters to Dallas streets. On Tuesday, Guyger’s murder conviction was heralded as a rare victory in the national push for policing reform.

But on Wednesday, her sentence was almost immediately met with protest.