Protesters briefly halt Dallas council meeting over concerns on Botham Jean death

Protests temporarily halted Wednesday’s Dallas City Council meeting after the audience got increasingly heated despite pleas for calm from officials.

The demonstrators, angry over the shooting death of Botham Jean in his own apartment by an off-duty Dallas officer, are pushing for a citizen police review board.

After the audience refused to follow the mayor’s instructions not to applaud and be disruptive, the mayor adjourned the meeting and walked out.

Protestors were calling for a citizen’s police review board with subpoena power.

Community organizer Dominique Alexander claimed that with a review board Officer Amber Guyger would have been taken off the force after she shot a suspect during an altercation in 2017. She was not indicted in the incident.

After the mayor called to recess the meeting and left, most council members and the city manager stayed at the horse shoe as people began to speak. At one point the meeting got so heated that armed security guards formed a line in front of city council members.

“I come to appeal to city council to put on agenda a citizen’s review board that has subpoena power,” said Rev. Michael Waters, A.M.E. Church Dallas. “It has been almost 50 years since an officer in Dallas has been convicted in the murder of a Dallas citizen. I don’t believe in 50 years every use of force was authorized.”

Alexander was escorted behind the horseshoe to meet with the mayor after a recess of about 40 minutes. Mayor Pro Tem Casey Thomas then led the meeting and a motion was made to hear everyone who wanted to speak and things returned to normal.

One by one, dozens of people spoke at the podium who were upset Guyger was only charged manslaughter rather than murder.

“You patrol the streets, and you don't know where you live?” one person said. “She should be fired on the spot.”

“We deserve dignity and not death,” another person said. “We deserve to live a long and prosperous life.”

One man defended Officer Guyger's actions.

“It was an accident. That's what I'm hearing,” the person said. “It's not about race. It was a mistake that she will have to live with for the rest of her life.”

After the meeting, Mayor Rawlings said he feels for the African American community.

“This is justified rage. I understand that," the mayor said. “And that's why we need to proceed very, very carefully.”

Rawlings says he’s open to the idea of having a citizen's police review board with the power to subpoena officers and witnesses.

“I think there's a lot of smarts in it,” he said. “I haven't looked at the details and I'm going to let Chief Hall figure that out and it through public safety that way.”

The mayor gave no timeline as to when that could happen.