‘I am not a threat,’ Botham Jean’s brother says as he accepts award from police training group

The teenager who brought a courtroom and observers around the world to tears when he forgave the former Dallas cop who murdered his brother, Botham Jean, stepped into the spotlight again Tuesday when he accepted an award from a group that trains police officers.

Brandt Jean, 18, received the 2019 Ethical Courage Award from the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration. The Plano-based group said Jean should be admired for the example he set by forgiving and hugging Amber Guyger after she was sentenced to 10 years in prison for murdering his brother.

Jean, who lives with his parents in their native St. Lucia, used the opportunity to tell the officers in attendance at a two-day ethics conference that they could and should do better.

“I want you all to know that I am not a threat, that young black males are not inherently dangerous or criminal,” Brandt Jean said from a podium at the institute. “I implore you to champion policies and procedures that amplify the value of all lives. I insist that you encourage diverse leadership that can model inclusion and restraint.

“Most importantly, I ask that you remember my brother,” he continued. “And when you remember him, I want you to ask yourself what are you doing to ensure there will be no other families like mine — no other little brothers that have to model ethical leadership in forgiveness of a cop whose lack of training and discipline caused them to carelessly take the life of another.”

The fired officer testified that she heard someone inside the apartment and wanted to stop the threat. When she burst in, the 26-year-old accountant was eating ice cream and waiting to watch a football game.