The social media accounts of fired Dallas officer Amber Guyger have come into question amid reports that police allowed Guyger ample time to scrub her online activity as they continue their investigation into the fatal shooting of Botham Jean.
In an interview with civil rights attorney Lee Merritt, journalist Jordan Chariton cited an alleged Pinterest account belonging to Guyger he claims echoed “Blue Lives Matter” and police superiority sentiments. Chariton, who writes for the Status Coup, noted Dallas PD hasn’t only refused to release 911 calls from the night of the shooting but has now given Guyger time to clear herself from any incriminating evidence on the web.
Amber Guyger faces manslaughter charges in the fatal shooting of her neighbor, Botham Jean. (photo credit: Dallas Sheriff’s Office)
Merritt, who’s representing Jean’s family, said this isn’t totally uncommon, however.
“It’s quite common in cases of law enforcement officers,” he explained. “And we’re dealing with cases very similar to the murder of Botham where law enforcement officers are given every break, every leeway possible.”
He added, “They’re given a chance when there’s body camera footage to review that, to craft their narrative around it, [and] to scrub their social media …”
Guyger, 31, is facing manslaughter charges after fatally shooting Jean in his own apartment after mistaking it for her own. The then-officer claimed she had entered the wrong unit and thought Jean, 26, was an intruder. The St. Lucia native was rushed to a local area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“I thought it was my apartment,” Guyger said repeatedly, and apologized to Jean, a law enforcement official told The Dallas Morning News of the 911 call. “I’m so sorry.”
The officer turned herself into police three days after the shooting and was subsequently charged with manslaughter. She was later fired from the department on Sept. 24.
While Guyer managed to wipe most of her social media accounts, Merritt said authorities seemed to have overlooked the Pinterest account, which he said has existed for years and does not appear to be a mock account. He went on to detail a few “very scary” things the former officer shared on her page.
“She bragged about being violent, being short tempered,” he said. “She bragged about use of force and she spoke out adamantly against things like kneeling [during the anthem] and said the NFL died of ‘Colin’ cancer,” a reference to former NFL player Colin Kaepernick, who started taking a knee to protest racial injustice and police violence in America.
The attorney also cited posts where Guyger wrote that folks were “lucky” if she went through the week without killing anyone and celebrated “one shot, one kill.”
“She expressed some very dark thoughts,” said Merritt.
Watch more in the video below.
In my interview with #BothamJean's family attorney, @MeritLaw makes the disturbing point: cop Amber Guyger being given days to scrub her social media isn't rare–this happens all the time. #BlackLivesMatter WATCH FULL INTERVIEW: https://t.co/OBCYlbHLVu pic.twitter.com/M1rwfC5tiZ
— Jordan (@JordanChariton) October 18, 2018
