DALLAS _ Jurors only heard about five minutes of testimony Saturday morning before court ended for the day in the murder trial of Amber Guyger, the fired Dallas officer who fatally shot a man in his home last year.
Guyger, 31, killed her upstairs neighbor Botham Jean the night of Sept. 6, 2018, in his apartment near downtown Dallas. When she took the stand Friday, she told jurors through tears how she mistook the 26-year-old accountant's apartment for her own and believed Jean to be a burglar.
Texas Ranger David Armstrong briefly took the stand Saturday, telling jurors that a person might experience tunnel vision and hear things at a different volume when "confronted with a quickly evolving, tense, dynamic confrontation with a suspect," as one of Guyger's attorneys put it.
Under questioning by prosecutor Jason Hermus, the Ranger who serves as lead investigator on the case also testified that Jean's white shorts had no pockets. This was likely done to show the jury that Jean's hands would have been visible to the Guyger and not hidden.
Much of the morning was spent outside the presence of the jury as Guyger's defense team attempted to certify retired Dallas police Deputy Chief Craig Miller as an expert witness.
The judge ruled that Miller could not offer his opinion to the jurors that Guyger was reasonable in shooting Jean, whom she believed to be a threat, nor could he say he believed Jean was ducking when he was shot.
Miller is the second lawman to express the opinion that Guyger was reasonable in believing that Jean, who was unarmed in his apartment, was a threat. Armstrong said the same thing earlier this week, like Miller, without the jury present.
Armstrong also said he didn't believe Guyger was guilty of a crime, although the Ranger investigator .
Miller has testified in other courts about the reasonableness of officers in police shootings. But that was in federal court in civil cases, which have different standards.
The U.S. Supreme Court has found that in criminal cases there is no definition of "reasonable." That is left up to each juror.
Guyger was the first witness called to the stand Friday. She testified through tears that she would forever regret the night she killed Jean.
"I was scared whoever was inside of my apartment was going to kill me, and I'm sorry," Guyger said through tears, her voice shaking. "I have to live with that every single day."
Prosecutor Jason Hermus grilled her on the stand, arguing that she cared more about herself than Jean that night and suggesting she failed to give him proper first aid after she shot him.
Hermus questioned why Guyger didn't call for backup when she heard "shuffling" inside what she thought was her apartment. The complex is blocks away from police headquarters, and he said her fellow officers would have been there in two minutes.
Guyger's attorneys have called the shooting a "tragic, but innocent" mistake, while the prosecution has focused on visual cues that they say should have told her she was at the wrong apartment.
Both sides _ as well as the jurors _ will have a day off Sunday. The trial will resume Monday.
