DALLAS—Insisting that every law enforcement official in America would have done the exact same thing if put in her situation, Dallas officer Amber Guyger claimed Monday that anyone could have mistaken a black man’s apartment for a dangerous firearm. “Listen, when your instincts kick in and your adrenaline is pumping, it’s easy to get confused—unfortunately, when you’re not sure if you’re looking at a furnished one-bedroom apartment or a deadly weapon, you have to err on the side of caution,” said the Dallas police officer now accused of manslaughter for shooting a black man in his own residence, explaining that she reacted in self-defense when the man appeared to be in possession of a firearm that turned out to be a three-piece living room set. “You have to be careful. The door handle, the coffee table, the throw pillows—if any of those things had been guns, it would have been very risky. Everyone always says they’d do things differently, but you never really know until you’re in the heat of the moment, facing a huge array of home décor. I just had to follow my gut.” At press time, Guyger had reportedly received an outpouring of support from hundreds of other police officers who had previously confused unarmed black people for large human-shaped guns.

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