DALLAS — The Dallas City Council voted Wednesday to rename a portion of Lamar Street after Botham Jean, who was killed in September 2018 by then Dallas Police Department officer Amber Guyger, who allegedly mistook her apartment for his thinking he was an intruder. The unanimous decision was met with much resistance from multiple council members.

“This vote requires 12 votes to pass,” said City of Dallas mayor Eric Johnson, before the record vote. “It requires 12 votes to pass. I will be part of that 12 and I would encourage everyone on this council to give a serious thought to being a part of that 12 — at least 12.”

Johnson’s comments came after more than an hour and a half of public comments and discussion from council members on the name change. Council members David Blewett, Jennifer Gates, Chad West and Paula Blackmon expressed their concern with the renaming. The proposal would rename the portion of Lamar Street between Interstate 30 and South Central Expressway, which is roughly four miles. During the meeting, Blewett made a motion to defer the vote until litigation involving the City of Dallas and the Jean family was resolved. But, the measure failed in a 11 to 4 vote.

“I am very troubled about having some back and forth while we’re involved with civil litigation that could involve testimony and a variety of other things that are just not closed—  that’s very troubling to me,” said Blewett of the lawsuit the Jean family filed against the city and Dallas police. “Now, if my colleagues decide to vote a different way then, hey, that’s business. That’s the way it is. But, I’m just being very candid. This isn’t personal and I take it very serious that we do this right.”

Councilman Adam Bazaldua was one of many who did not support the motion, insisting that the council move forward in support of changing Lamar Street to Botham Jean Boulevard without further delay. Back in the summer, Mayor Pro Tem Adam Medrano and council members Omar Navarez plus Adam Bazaldua submitted a memorandum for the street name request to the city manager — T.C. Broadnax. An online petition created by Chris Norman garnered more than 55,000 signatures for the renaming.

“There’s been several comments made about there being different reasoning behind honoring Botham’s name,” Bazaldua said. “I want to be clear in that the racism that has been brought forward speaks directly to the honor that needs to take place for Botham Jean’s name. These are not two different reasons. This goes hand in hand for why Botham is not here with us anymore. If this were to not pass, this would speak to the racism that exists. It speaks to the racism that exists in this city — it speaks to the priorities. But, I know where I stand.”

Guyger, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison back in September 2019, shot Jean in his fourth-floor unit at the South Side Flats — down the street from Dallas police’s headquarters — located in the 1200 block of South Lamar Street on Sept. 6, 2018.

Her apartment was directly below his. Guyger told police she came home from working a long shift and was disoriented, causing her to find herself at his doorstep. The Harding University graduate, of St. Lucia, was 26-years-old at the time of the shooting and unarmed. Those closest to him described him as someone with a larger than life personality with a strong faith in The Lord. He was also known for his love of singing in the church.

“The petition to rename Lamar Street to Botham Jean Boulevard is a small, but meaningful gesture to someone who loved Dallas yet was taken away in the most brutal way imaginable,” said Allison Jean, Botham’s mother. “He was seated in his apartment eating ice cream preparing a proposal for improving the worship service at Dallas West Church of Christ and waiting to watch the first football game of the year.”

Jean’s mother went on to talk about his admiration for not only Dallas but also PwC, the company he worked for as an accountant. During a visit, Botham gave her a tour to various places he frequented and took her to get a taste of Texas-style barbecue just to give her a glimpse of his home away from home.  She noted that Botham had great respect for police officers but never wanted to be stopped by one of them due to ongoing national headlines about police brutality.

“We recall the shooting of Michael Brown and Tamir Rice and we couldn’t forget Stephon Clark,” said Allison Jean. “Therefore, Botham ensured that his car was always in pristine condition and his registration was up-to-date. He dressed immaculately on most occasions to ensure that he was not mistaken for a thug and it’s for some of these reasons that the pain of losing Botham at the hands of a police officer hurts so much.”

Reflecting on her son, Allison mentioned that he understood the plight of Black men in America despite growing up in St. Lucia.

“He was well aware of the experiences of his Black brothers and he did all that he could to avoid falling into their fate,” she said. “However, my family trusts in the Lord’s power and are trying to move from the hurt and pain to new horizons. One wish is that Botham’s name will be remembered and never ever be forgotten. The renaming of Lamar Street is one way in which our wish can be honored. This street on which he chose to live and the street on which he died will serve as a lasting memory of the upstanding resident who loved Dallas so much.”

Allisa Findley, Jean’s sister, reminisced on the last time she saw Botham adding that he always tried to convince her to move from New York City to Dallas.

“Botham was a loving, generous God-fearing resident of Dallas,” she said. “Dallas lost an angel on Sept. 6, 2018. Everyone in this room should be outraged by his murder at the hands of a Dallas police officer and should be more than willing to honor him by renaming Lamar Street to Botham Jean Boulevard.”

The change to street signage will cost the city approximately $20,000, and the state will have to pay for any costs associated with signs on the highway that need to be changed, according to officials. Owners with businesses on the street will incur the cost of changing the address on such things as business cards, which was brought up in the public hearing by a few community members who didn’t support the proposal.

In total, 122 property owners were notified of the potential name change last spring, but less than 20 responded with either support or denial letters. Lamar Street is named after Mirabeau B. Lamar, a proponent of slavery. Prior to entering the political realm, he joined the revolutionary army as a private. He’d later become the vice-president of the Republic of Texas and then the president, succeeding Sam Houston.

During public comments, Rep. Carl Sherman, Sr. was one of two lawmakers who spoke out in support of the name change along with Rep. Jasmine Crockett. Sherman implored council members to reflect on the lives lost over the past decade with regard to their decision to backing the proposal.

“I would just like to reiterate now more than ever history truly does have its eyes on us and I know that’s another shameless ‘Hamilton’ reference… every move made is detrimental to the unification of our community and every action does, of course, come with its own set of consequences,” Sherman said. “I hope that I didn’t offend anyone with that, but I do believe our decisions today will affect what the next generations are contending with.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated the name change would include Interstate 35. It has been updated.