A white Dallas police officer who fatally shot her black neighbour inside his own apartment has been fired.

Police Chief U Renee Hall dismissed Officer Amber Guyger during a hearing on Monday, according to the Police Department.

Guyger is charged with manslaughter in the September 6 shooting that left 26-year-old Botham Jean dead, and she was fired because of her arrest, according to the department.

Court records show Guyger said she thought she had encountered a burglar inside her own home. She was arrested three days later and is currently out on bail.

A statement from police said an internal investigation concluded that on September 9, Guyger, a four-year veteran of the force, “engaged in adverse conduct when she was arrested for Manslaughter”.

Dallas police spokesman Sergeant Warren Mitchell later said that when an officer has been arrested for a crime, “adverse conduct” is often cited in the officer’s termination.

Sgt Mitchell said that adverse conduct is “conduct which adversely affects the (morale) or efficiency of the Department or which has a tendency to adversely affect, lower, destroy public respect and confidence in the Department or officer.”

One of the lawyers for Jean’s family, Lee Merritt, said Mr Jean was being buried Monday in St Lucia.

The family’s lawyers, along with protesters, have been calling for Guyger to be fired since the shooting.

Dallas Officer Mistaken Apartment
Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger (Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office Jail/AP)

In a statement, the lawyers said they see the termination as an initial victory.

“However, we are committed to seeing through the next steps of the process of a proper murder indictment, conviction and appropriate sentencing,” they said in the statement.

Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson has said the case will be presented to a grand jury, which could decide a more serious charge than manslaughter.

During a conference call with Mr Jean’s parents and their lawyers on Sunday, Ms Hall reported she intended to fire Guyger and explained the delay in the action, according to the family’s lawyers in their statement.

Days before the firing, Ms Hall said in a statement that she had not taken action against Guyger because she did not want to interfere with the ongoing criminal investigation.

There are conflicting narratives over what led up to the shooting.

Guyger told investigators that she had just ended a shift when she returned in uniform to the South Side Flats apartment complex where she lived.

She said when she put her key in the apartment door, which was unlocked and slightly ajar, it opened, according to the affidavit. Inside, the lights were off, and she saw a figure in the darkness that cast a large silhouette across the room, according to the officer’s account.

Guyger said she concluded her apartment was being burgled and gave verbal commands to the person, who ignored them. The affidavit said she then drew her weapon and fired twice.

She called 911. Asked where she was, she returned to the front door to see she was in the wrong unit, according to the affidavit. The 911 tapes have not been released.

But according to an affidavit for a search warrant, Mr Jean “confronted the officer at the door”.

After the shooting, Guyger’s blood was drawn to be tested for alcohol and drugs, according to Ms Hall. Authorities have not released results.