Texas House of Representatives passed a bill related to Botham Jean, a Black man who was killed by an off-duty officer in 2018. Bill 929 AKA the “Botham Jean Act”, was passed Wednesday, May 12. According to the Dallas Morning News, the bill would require officers equipped with body-worn cameras to keep them activated for the entirety of their participation in an investigation.
According to the representative that sponsored the bill, Texas Rep. Carl O. Sherman (D), House bill “929” was made requested by Jean’s mother to honor his birthday. In a press release, Sherman said
“We want to make sure all the evidence is there to uphold the integrity of policing as a profession and not redact or edit out footage,” Sherman continued “In keeping with the spirit of the young man who HB929 was named after ‘Let the spirit of Botham Jean continue to rise among us.’”
Bo’s Law passed in the House of Representatives with a vote of 108-34, and now it heads to Senate
Botham Jean was killed by off-duty Dallas police officer Amber Guyer back in 2018. The former officer shot Jean in his apartment after mistaking him as a burglar. Guyer, who was fired, was convicted of murder in 2019 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
