The murder of Joshua Brown, who was a witness in the Amber Guyer murder trial, took many of us by surprise over the weekend.
Joshua Brown was the neighbor of Jean Botham who testified that he heard what sounded like “two people meeting by surprise,” followed by two gunshots. He also testified about the former Dallas police officer, Amber Guyer’s, actions following the shooting as she stepped out into the hall and called the police on the night of September 6, 2018.
Not even a full week ago we were discussing the Guyer’s guilty verdict and feeling that justice had for once been served in a police-involved shooting on our Theories and Thoughts podcast. I even described the moment as “historical†(while searching for the word “monumentalâ€), but the slaying of Brown has quickly snatched back that feeling of a win.
According to datasets tracking police arrests, convictions, and shootings by Philip Stinson, an associate professor at Bowling Green State University’s criminal justice program in conjunction with The Washington Posts, there are almost 900-1,000 police-involved fatal shootings each year.
Since 2005, only 35 officers have been convicted after going to trial out of the 98 non-federal law enforcement officers who have been arrested in fatal shootings cases. Guyer makes 36, yet to many, her ten-year sentence is not harsh enough for her actions, so that was the first slap in the face after a verdict was reached after we thought maybe the system was changing for the better.
However, the slaying of Brown comes as a brutal and harsh reminder that we still have so far to go. According to statements on social media, Brown had no known enemies, so it seems safe to only connect his death to his participation in the trial.
The crazy thing is Brown was already in fear of his life before testifying in court. Last November he was assaulted after leaving Dallas Cabaret night club, and as he was escaping, his attacker began shooting. Brown was shot in his foot, but another person, Â Nicholas Shaq’uan Diggs, was fatally hit. After that scary experience, Brown still testified anyway, but according to news reports, the 28-year old AirBNB manager worried about his safety. Oddly, this has only come to light after his passing.
Brown leaves behind a young son. His family, the city of Dallas, as well as Lee Merritt, the civil rights attorney who represented Botham’s family are calling for any information that may help the investigation. While we all hope his killer is caught, one has to wonder if anyone will be brave enough to come forward now as Brown did for Botham.
