An ex-police officer who shot dead a man after walking into his apartment and thinking it was hers has been jailed for 10 years.

Yesterday Amber Guyger was found guilty of the murder of Botham Jean, a 26-year-old black PwC accountant.

He was shot dead as he ate ice cream in his home.

Today she was jailed for 10 years in a sentence decided upon by the jury who convicted her.

After the sentence was handed down Botham’s brother hugged Guyger and said: “I forgive you. I know if you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you.”

He said he forgave her and they embraced as sobs rang out in the courtroom, according to reports present.

There is expected to be significant backlash to the length of the sentence, especially in the black community.

The murder on September 6 2018 sparked street protests, particularly when prosecutors initially opted to bring the lesser charge of manslaughter against 31-year-old Guyger.

The victim’s brother hugs Guyger as she’s sentenced 
Amber Guyger has been jailed for 10 years

It is rare for US police officers to be convicted of murder for shooting people they view as suspects.

But unlike other recent high-profile killings, such as those of Michael Brown in Missouri and Philando Castile in Minnesota, Guyger was not on duty or responding to a reported crime when she pulled the trigger.

Guyger, who had spent four years on the force before the killing, took the rare step of testifying in her own defense during her trial, tearfully expressing regret for shooting Jean but saying she had believed her life was in danger when she pulled the trigger.

The 31-year-old went into the wrong apartment and shot Botham Jean 
The police officer’s lawyers said she was on ‘autopilot’
During the trial, Guyger’s defense attorney said she was “on autopilot” after a long work day, when she mistakenly parked on the wrong floor in the garage and was able to enter Jean’s apartment because he had left the door slightly ajar.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. I have to live with this every single day,” Guyger told the jury of eight women and four men.

Botham Jean was shot dead while in his own apartment

In cross-examination, Assistant District Attorney Jason Hermus asked her, “When you shot him twice, you intended to kill him, didn’t you?””I did,” Guyger responded.

Hermus told the jury that Guyger missed blatant clues that she was not in her own apartment – including the smell of marijuana smoke – because she was distracted after a 16-minute phone conversation on her commute with her former police partner.