Dallas street to be named after police shooting victim Botham Jean
Jean was shot in his home in 2018. The officer was convicted of murder.
A Dallas street is set to be renamed in honor of Botham Jean, an unarmed Black man who was eating ice cream in his unlocked apartment when a police officer entered and fatally shot him.
The officer, Amber Guyger, claimed she fired in self defense, saying she mistook 26-year-old Jean's apartment for her own when returning from work on Sept. 6, 2018.
Jean's mother, Allison Jean, told reporters on Friday: "He was full of life. He was full of energy, vigor. His quest was to see that the world became a better place."
"He reached out to the underprivileged. He cried tears when he drove me around Dallas and showed me the homeless people," she said. "He wished he could've taken every homeless person in."
"And," she added, "he gets killed in the sanctuary of his home."
The renaming ceremony for Botham Jean Boulevard, scheduled for Saturday, ensures that "his memory lasts forever," his mother said. "Every single Dallas police officer has to say his name."
Guyger was convicted of murder in 2019 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Though Allison Jean is glad to see a street named in honor of her son, she stressed, "It doesn't fix the problem."
"Her 10 years is still not enough," she said.