The criminalizing begins... Dallas investigators "found" marijuana in Botham Jean's apartment

[ecstatic]

DALLAS - Following the shooting death of Botham Jean by the hands of Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger, multiple search warrants were executed at Jean’s apartment as part of the investigation.

One of the warrants became a public record Thursday afternoon when it was returned to the judge who signed it. It was shortly after Jean’s funeral had ended. It listed several items found in Jean's apartment, including a small amount of marijuana.

“I think it’s unfortunate that law enforcement begin to immediately criminalize the victim — in this case, someone who was clearly was the victim that has absolutely no bearing on the fact that he was shot in his home,” said Lee Merritt, attorney for Jean’s family. “I would love to see more information coming out about the warrants executed on the home of the shooter who lived just below him. I haven’t seen any of those. And particularly for it to be on this day the day that we remember and celebrate him... to see the common assassination attempt on the victim that we often see in law enforcement involved shootings.”

http://www.fox4news.com/news/search-warrant-marijuana-found-in-botham-jeans-apartment-after-deadly-shooting

It's disgusting that Dallas PD/Rangers/ whoever's in charge has chosen this route.

Link to tweet

[LonePirate]

2. You nailed it by using "found" to describe the results of this search. This is a cover-up.

[malaise]

3. Vile racists

Damn

[lunasun]

4. I called it ! They did this ( unsuccessfully ) to a friend of mine when CPD ran in to his car.

Unsuccessful only because he was alive and he had plenty of witnesses to his many anti drug rants over the years and had bad asthma no way he could smoke anything
Made it to TV and sued. Yes they ran into and damaged his car running a light no siren tried to get out of it by planting drugs
The sick part is this good man is dead and cannot defend himself like my buddy.
but others spoke of his character
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11111664

[ecstatic]

5. Yes, you did call it! Absolutely shameful, and I'm glad your friend was able to

defend himself from the planted drugs. I cannot believe they tried to RUIN HIS LIFE to get out of paying damages. Unbelievable!

[bronxiteforever]

9. +1

[ADX]

24. I love your username...

...Fellow Bronx native here. BX all day, every day!!!

[bronxiteforever]

33. Thanks

[uponit7771]

18. Wow!!! Was this in Dallas?

[lunasun]

27. CPD Chicago police dept . How different is Dallas? it is a culture imo not location but CPD

is sort of known to have stolen guns and avlbl drugs from unreported searches to plant as needed . What else they do with them well..
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-chicago-cops-stripped-fbi-sting-20180131-story.html

Hey at least he didn't wind up here!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-police-detain-americans-black-site

I included the comments link made on his character by many, including the mayor of Dallas.

IMO if his history wasn't well documented and his good character wasn't well known , it could have been a stolen gun and a crack pipe found in his apt. to make him more sinister

Another question I always have is even if they found a crack pipe (for real not planted) how does this fit in with the killing? What was in her apt seems more appropriate if they are going to go that far linking drug behavior .
Did they drug and alcohol test her in a short time of the murder , or wait until hours later for altered results? That's another old ploy for cops in trouble
I will bet after his death he was tested
Grabbing straws
Sorry but I do not put much faith in the info chosen to be released considering who the shooter and victim are.

[uponit7771]

28. DPD has been pretty progressive in last 10 yes no way they're

.. going to screw it up over this

[safeinOhio]

6. No word about the results of

shooters blood test. Also, we need to know more about the other time she used deadly force.

[mythology]

7. So is it too late for the cop to claim she's part bloodhound

And she was there to make a bust because she sniffed out the devil weed?

[iluvtennis]

8. He was in his own home, minding his own business when he was murdered. This is just vile.

[Fred Sanders]

10. Wouldn't it be odd if police did not get warrants and search the crime scene? Unless there is

evidence the police planted the small amount of grass (and as to having some, so what, being irrelevant to anything in a court of law, versus the court of social media, why not plant crack or a real drug??) I have to go with the sworn police declaration to the authorizing judge. Rule of law and all that.

I am assuming the suspect's apartment was also searched and an inventory to the authorizing judge will soon be known to the public as well.

And if they find a small quantity of grass, just as irrelevant.

Concluding finding some personal quantity grass is a criminalization hunt is flawed logic, not to mention poor hunting.

[moriah]

17. You make the *assumption*, but had she not been treated as an officer but as a citizen...

Officers would have likely processed those alleged warrants BEFORE she had a chance to go to her own apartment -- therefore seeing the state of her own locks prior to her having the opportunity to enter.

The fact is, police botched every bit of transparency and accountability they could have projected -- leading to the questions being asked.

[ecstatic]

20. Maybe they don't have easy, quick, unaccountable access to harder drugs

Weed is easy to get and can be planted relatively easy, hell, it was probably from her own damn stash. I hope to God she's tested for drugs at some point!

[Fred Sanders]

23. Murder is a form of homicide that requires specific intent to kill. You have to specifically intend

to kill the specific person, or be negligent as to death. First degree requires planning and deliberation, so not first degree, for sure.

Second degree murder is unprovable under these bizarre and accidental, albeit very negligent, circumstances, as the evidence of the shooting is not evidence of intent. Where is the evidence of specific intent to kill? As defined by law, not social media?

The suspect was charged properly, based on the evidence, not the social media speculation.

"Most jurisdictions generally define Second Degree Murder as involving “malice aforethought” and the absence of premeditation and deliberation. Second Degree Murder must be proved through evidence of the defendant’s intent to inflict violence or grievous bodily harm or that the defendant intended on acting in a way that resulted in death. This type of murder should not be confused with acts committed in the “heat of passion”."

Think of Manslaughter as murder, that is an unlawful killing, but without the mental element. This means an unlawful killing is committed, but there is no malice or evil intent to do so. Similar to Second Degree Murder, Manslaughter does not contain a prior plan or scheme to commit the unlawful killing of a person. Furthermore, there is no evil intention.

"As mentioned above, Manslaughter is divided into categories: voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. Voluntary Manslaughter commonly refers to a killing committed in the “heat of passion”. This means that the act was not pre-planned or plotted before, but the circumstances that led up to the act caused serious emotional distress such as rage or fear. These circumstances provoked the killer to commit the crime. “Heat of passion” crimes are best illustrated by situations such as a spouse caught in the act of adultery or a drunken fight between two persons that leads to a violent act causing death. Involuntary Manslaughter refers to a situation where death results from a negligent act or a failure to exercise the legal duty of care. Acts committed under this category usually include death as a result of drunk driving or reckless driving."


https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-second-degree-murder-and-vs-manslaughter/

[coti]

31. As in most cases, intent to kill can be implied from the intentional shooting at someone itself

She didn't accidentally shoot her gun directly at the guy, right? She's not claiming the gun went off accidentally, right? What did she think would happen when the bullet entered his body?

She only shot him once, so she could make an argument that she was only trying to disable him, based on that. But the possiblility that her intention was to kill him- completely unjustified by the situation- can not be ruled out, that's for sure, given that she shot him with a firearm.

[coti]

32. Correction: She fired twice, but only hit him once

Make what you will of intent to kill or just disable him, with that- maybe she understood through her training that handguns are notoriously inaccurate. Indeed, she only hit him once.

[liberalmuse]

11. As if that justifies being shot in cold blood.

Not even close, racists!

Link to tweet

[Blue_Tires]

12. And that's all the justification they'll need...

I knew something like this was coming

[Fred Sanders]

14. Justification for what? Who are "they"? This bit of info will never see the inside of a courtroom...

Irrelevant to anything outside the social media bubble.

Are we really freaking out because a bit of grass was found in the victims' residence?

Because.....?

[Blue_Tires]

21. "They" the cops and their defense attorneys

Regardless, jurors will already know about it before selection and it will be in the back of their minds...

[LanternWaste]

29. You see "freaking out." I merely see speculation, concern and curiosity.

I can certainly understand however, why you're unable to see past a perceived hysteria...

[Hotler]

13. Sad that the Man........would even go there....

[Haggis for Breakfast]

15. I don't care what they found in his apartment.

It doesn't matter and has nothing to do with this. Ditto with where she parked, how many hours she had worked, what he was wearing. None of this is relevant. They are desperately trying everything they can think of to mitigate what happened.

But they cannot change the truth - she murdered that man in his home FOR NO REASON and he's dead.

I am sickened by the inevitable circling of the wagons anytime a white cop shoots a Black person. Watch and see what other "factors" they try to throw at this story. It means nothing.

Her white privilege does not outweigh Mssr. Jean's right to live.

Dallas PD needs to stand up, do the right thing - charge this woman with murder NOT manslaughter.

[Ilsa]

16. Death penalty for a little ganja? yeah, that's trump's 'merica. NT

C

[Cha]

19. SHE WAS IN HIS DAMN HOUSE.

Fuck the Murdering Whiny Killer. Not gonna Fly.

[struggle4progress]

22. eeek!

[gratuitous]

25. This is how our society signals which lives matter

If the authorities tell everyone to remain calm in the aftermath of a murder, the victim's life didn't really matter. If the authorities rush out to assure the public that the perpetrator of this dastardly murder will be hunted down and brought to justice toot fuckin' sweet, the victim's life matters.

If the victim's family comes out and only expresses predictable grief and sorrow, that life didn't matter much. If the victim's family and friends are given free rein to express not only grief and sorrow, but rage, fury, hunger for revenge, and dark threats, (particularly in the company of local elected officials and law enforcement), the victim's life mattered.

If the past of the principals is fly-specked to a fare-thee-well, you can tell if the life mattered. If it's the accused having his or her past minutely examined, the victim's life mattered. If it's the victim getting a posthumous cavity search of his or her past and character, then that life didn't matter.

There are, of course, other signals that tell us which lives are valued in our society and which ones aren't.

[Iggo]

26. I don't hate pot smokers. I hate murderers. (n/t)

[jmowreader]

30. There are also reports the police found his weed grinder

I believe the police to be too dumb to also plant a weed grinder, so I think the marijuana is his.

And...so what? Pot is illegal in Texas but less than 4 ounces (he had about a third of an ounce) is a misdemeanor. Max for 10g and a grinder is six months in jail and a $2500 fine, not summary execution.

He got killed for Being In His Own Home While Black. Having a little bit of pot won’t change that.