More than a year after a federal jury ordered former Dallas police Officer Amber Guyger to pay $98 million in damages to the family of Botham Jean for fatally shooting him, Jean’s family is seeking to have the city cover the judgment.
In a lawsuit filed this week in Dallas County District Court, lawyers for Jean’s family argued the city’s Officer and Employee Liability Plan requires it to cover losses caused by the actions of an employee during the scope of their employment.
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“In addition to the City’s obvious social, moral, and ethical obligations to satisfy the Judgment under its social contract with its citizens, the City has a clear legal obligation to pay the Judgment by virtue of its duty to indemnify former Officer Guyger under the Plan,” the lawsuit said. “Despite ample opportunity to do so, the City has failed to satisfy all or any part of the judgment.”
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Lawyers for the Jean family didn’t respond Friday to a message seeking comment. A city spokesperson said the city doesn’t respond in cases of pending litigation.
Fired Dallas police Officer Amber Guyger leaves the courtroom after she was found guilty of murder by a 12-person jury on Oct. 1, 2019.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
In September 2018, Guyger mistook Jean’s apartment for her own. She told investigators she thought the 26-year-old accountant was a burglar when she shot him with her service gun.
Guyger was found guilty of murder a year later and sentenced to 10 years in prison. She was denied parole in October 2024 but will be eligible again later this year.
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Jean’s parents and sister filed a federal civil lawsuit against Guyger and the city a month after the shooting in which they said she was poorly trained and had followed what they called the department’s protocol of “shoot first and ask questions later.”
A judge released the city from the case after city attorneys argued the lawsuit failed to provide evidence to support its claims and could not prove causation. The fact that Guyger was off duty at the time of the shooting also was a factor.
When the case went to trial in November 2024, Guyger was the only defendant and was serving her sentence. The jury’s award included $38 million in compensatory damages and $60 million in punitive damages.