Family of Botham Jean, Who Was Killed by Cop in His Home, Awarded Nearly $100M in Wrongful Death Suit

The family of Botham Jean, the Texas man who was killed by an off-duty police officer in his own apartment in 2018, will be awarded nearly $100 million following a civil trial.

On Nov. 20, a federal jury concluded that ex-Dallas police officer Amber Guyger used excessive force and violated Jean’s constitutional rights when she shot him on Sept. 6, 2018, according to the filing obtained by PEOPLE. 

Guyger was ordered to pay about $60 million in punitive damages and $38.6 million in compensatory damages to the family of Jean, who was Black, resulting in a $98.65 million settlement in the wrongful death case, per the filing.

According to reporting by NBC Dallas-Fort Worth, Guyger did not attend the civil trial or retain a lawyer for the case.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, the Jean family’s legal team, which includes civil rights attorney Ben Crump, called the verdict a “powerful testament to Botham’s life and the profound injustice of his death.”

“This case laid bare critical issues of racial bias and police accountability that cannot be ignored,” the statement read. “Today’s verdict sends a clear message that law enforcement officers who commit crimes cannot be insulated from the consequences of their actions.”

Guyger was convicted of murder in 2019 after claiming that she mistakenly walked into 26-year-old Jean’s apartment and believed it was her own apartment. The five-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department testified in court that she was “scared whoever was inside of my apartment was going to kill me,” The Dallas Morning News reported.

According to testimony, Guyger had been exchanging sexual texts with her married police partner throughout the day and was on the phone with him as she drove into her apartment’s parking garage after working a 13-hour shift.

Minutes later, Guyger, who is white, walked into Botham’s apartment and shot twice, firing the fatal bullet that struck Jean in the chest.

An arrest affidavit previously obtained by PEOPLE stated that Guyger immediately called in the shooting. Botham was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Botham worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers and was a native of Saint Lucia.

Guyger was arrested and initially charged with manslaughter, a lesser offense, before ultimately being found guilty of murder.

Prosecutors argued Guyger had multiple options for confronting a burglar instead of shooting to kill. From the beginning of the trial, Guyger’s defense attorney claimed the tragedy resulted from “a perfect storm of innocent circumstances,” PEOPLE previously reported.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Guyger, now 36, is currently serving a 10-year sentence, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Inmate records show she became eligible for parole in September and news outlets including CBS News report she was denied. Her projected release date is listed as Sept. 29, 2029.

To help combat systemic racism, consider learning from or donating to these organizations:

• Campaign Zero works to end police brutality in America through research-proven strategies.
• ColorofChange.org works to make the government more responsive to racial disparities.
• National Cares Mentoring Movement provides social and academic support to help Black youth succeed in college and beyond.