Sen. Cruz Says Democrats Quick To Blame Police After Deadly Shooting Of Botham Jean
HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas says he wishes Democrats weren't "so quick to always blame the police officer" after challenger Beto O'Rourke suggested that a white officer who shot and killed a black neighbor should be fired.
Sen. Cruz told Houston television station KRIV on Saturday that the September 6 deadly shooting of 26-year-old Botham Jean may be something worse than a "horrific misunderstanding" but cautioned against early conclusions.
Dallas police officer Amber Guyger has told investigators she mistook Jean's apartment for her own and thought she encountered a burglar.
Cruz is in a competitive race in the midterm elections against O'Rourke for Cruz's U.S. Senate seat.
His comments were in response to an O'Rourke interview in which the Democrat was asked whether Guyger should be fired.
O'Rourke said he didn't "understand how anyone can come to any other conclusion."
Guyger told investigators that she had just ended a 15-hour shift when she returned in uniform to the South Side Flats apartment complex.
She parked on the fourth floor, instead of the third, where she lived, according to the affidavit.
MORE COVERAGE HERE:
Funeral Held For Botham Jean, Man Killed In Apartment By DPD Officer
Family To Dallas Officer Who Shot Son In His Apartment: 'Come Clean'
Protesters Angered By Deadly Dallas Officer Shooting Interrupt Council Meeting
Multiple Criminal Defense Lawyers See No Crime In Off-Duty Officer Shooting
Dallas Faith Community On Death Of Botham Jean: 'Just Feels So Wrong'
Minister From Botham Jean's Church Says 'Sadness Can't Be Erased'
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
