The Liberal Gun Club Forum

Firing through a window, a white Fort Worth officer fatally shot a black woman inside her home early Saturday after police were called to the house because its doors were open, according to police and the neighbor who summoned them.

Atatiana Jefferson, 28, died in a bedroom, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Officers responded at 2:25 a.m. to the house in the 1200 block of East Allen Avenue. James Smith, who called a non-emergency police number, said he saw the doors were open and the lights were on, which struck him as unusual. He knew Jefferson, his neighbor, was home with her 8-year-old nephew.

Police parked around the corner, and the woman could not see them, according to Smith, 62. About 15 minutes later, he said, he heard a loud bang and saw several more officers rush inside.

Body-worn camera video police released shows two officers using flashlights to check the perimeter of the house, inspecting two doors that are open with closed screen doors. At the back of house, one officer appears to see a figure through a dark window, and he quickly twists his body to the left.

“Put your hands up! Show me your hands!” he shouts through the window, his gun drawn. He then fires a single shot through the window.

In the video, he does not identify himself as an officer.

Jefferson was playing video games with her nephew when they heard what they believed to be a prowler outside, her relatives’ attorney said. When she went to the window to see what was going on, she was shot, the attorney said.

Police said that the officer, who joined the department in April 2018, saw a person standing inside the house near a window.

“Perceiving a threat, the officer drew his duty weapon and fired one shot striking the person inside the residence,” the department said in a news release. “Officers entered the residence locating the individual and a firearm and began providing emergency medical care.”

Police released photographs of a gun they said that they found in a bedroom at the house. They did not say whether Jefferson was holding the weapon when the officer shot her.

S. Lee Merritt, an attorney who handles civil rights cases that involve police misconduct allegations, said his office was representing the Jefferson family.

Jefferson worked in pharmaceutical equipment sales, Merritt wrote Saturday on Facebook.

“Before law enforcement goes about their pattern of villainizing this beautiful peaceful woman, turning her into a suspect, a silhouette, or threat, let me tell you about [her,]” Merritt wrote. “She was a premed graduate of Xavier University. She was very close to her family. She was the auntie that stayed up on Friday night playing video games with her 8 year old nephew.”

“Her mom had recently gotten very sick, so she was home taking care of the house and loving her life. There was no reason for her to be murdered. None. We must have justice,” Merritt wrote.

Jefferson was pronounced dead at the scene. The officer, whose name the department did not release, was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation, police said.

Smith, who has lived on the street for 50 years, said he had been trying to be a good neighbor, calling police on a non-emergency number so they could check on the residents. But he was wrestling with his emotions after a sleepless night.

“I’m shaken. I’m mad. I’m upset. And I feel it’s partly my fault,” he said. “If I had never dialed the police department, she’d still be alive.”

VodoundaVinci wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2019 1:34 pm I feel for her Family...I blame this kind of stuff on the fact that we are having a hard time recruiting police officers. So, the ones we are getting are...not the best.

How does an officers go to a home when called about a strange situation of the doors being open and then shoot the first person he sees inside the house? Unbelieveable.

VooDoo

K9s wrote:I guess no one can look out the window if they hear a burglar now? Could be legally killed?

How is that understandable? What if it was your mom?

TrueTexan wrote:This neighborhood was at one time a very rough part of town many years ago. But over the years residents working with the city got it cleaned up and the crime rate dropped. It is still a lower income minority neighborhood. Also FWPD doesn’t always kick beer cans out of the way when getting out of the patrol cars.

TEXGunny wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2019 5:46 pm

TrueTexan wrote:This neighborhood was at one time a very rough part of town many years ago. But over the years residents working with the city got it cleaned up and the crime rate dropped. It is still a lower income minority neighborhood. Also FWPD doesn’t always kick beer cans out of the way when getting out of the patrol cars.

It's not as bad as it was even 10 years ago but still waaay too close to stop six

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TEXGunny wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2019 5:37 pm

K9s wrote:I guess no one can look out the window if they hear a burglar now? Could be legally killed?

How is that understandable? What if it was your mom?

I said somewhat understandable. There are neighborhoods where they'd aim pistols at cops for sure. Not IDing themselves is the only thing allowing that wiggle room. I'm reserving judgment until more facts come to light, especially since FWPD only recently got into a scandal with the chief. There may not be 100% of the facts available

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TrueTexan wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2019 6:31 pm This is bad right after the Dallas Amber Guyer’s shooting.

K9s wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2019 8:43 pm

TrueTexan wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2019 6:31 pm This is bad right after the Dallas Amber Guyer’s shooting.

I am sure the Attorney General will take care of this, right?

"I called because I was concerned for my neighbors," Smith said.

The Texas police officer who on Saturday fatally shot Atatiana “Tay” Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman, in her own home after a neighbor requested a wellness check at the residence has resigned, officials said.

Fort Worth Police Chief Ed Kraus said Monday during a news conference that the officer, identified as Aaron Dean, had resigned earlier in the day. Kraus said he intended to fire him, but Dean tendered his resignation before they met.

Dean, who was hired by the department in August 2017, may face criminal charges. Kraus said he expects a “substantial update” on the criminal case no later than Tuesday. Police have also presented a preliminary case to the FBI for possible civil rights violations, he said.

“None of this information can ease the pain of Atatiana’s family, but I hope it shows the community that we take these incidents seriously,” the police chief said.

Dean, who is white, allegedly shot Jefferson though a window of her home around 2:30 a.m. Saturday. He and several other officers showed up to the house minutes after a neighbor called the police department’s nonemergency line to express concern over the house’s front door being open and lights being on.

Body camera video released Saturday shows Dean entering the backyard of the house, turning left, suddenly grabbing for his gun and pointing it at the window.

“Put your hands up! Show me your hands!” he can be heard shouting before immediately firing one round through the screen window.

The officers then entered the house and provided emergency medical care to Jefferson, but police said she died at the scene. There’s no indication the officers identified themselves to Jefferson or knocked on the front door of the house before the shooting, officials said.

Jefferson had been playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew moments before she was killed, according to Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney representing the family. Jefferson went to the window when she heard a noise outside and was shot, Lee said. He said her nephew was in the room at the time and watched her fall to the ground.

Dean was served a written administrative complaint the following day, placed on administrative leave and stripped of his badge and firearm, Kraus said Monday.

“Had the officer not resigned, I would have fired him for violations of several policies, including our use of force policy, our deescalation policy and unprofessional conduct,” he said during the news conference.

State licensing paperwork will also reflect that Dean was “dishonorably discharged” from the force, Kraus said.

Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said during the news conference Monday that city leadership is moving to bring in a panel of national experts to review the police department.

“Justice is critical here,” she said. “We know we cannot bring back this young woman who was taken all too soon. But this is a pivotal moment for a city that will and can come together.”

Price condemned the Fort Worth Police Department for releasing still images from body camera footage that showed a firearm the officers found inside Jefferson’s home the night of the shooting.

Kraus said the department was following protocol by releasing the images to show what responding officers could have perceived as a threat. But he also said he regretted having released them.

“In hindsight, it was a bad thing to do,” he said. “We need to review what we did and why we did that.”

During a news conference earlier Monday, Jefferson’s family remembered her as a smart, kind and hard-working woman who loved spending time with her family.

Jefferson was a graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana and worked in pharmaceutical equipment sales. She had recently moved into her mother’s home to help take care of her as her health declined.

“Honor, integrity, commitment and service ― these are the attributes of Atatiana Jefferson,” said Ashley Carr, Jefferson’s oldest sister. “She was enjoying a life in her home where no one would have expected her life to be in harm’s way, especially not at the hands of a civil servant who had taken the oath to serve and protect.”

TrueTexan wrote: Mon Oct 14, 2019 4:33 pm At least in this case the Police Departed and the City has come forward and taken swift action. Also they have not made excuses for action taken that should not have been taken after the shooting.

Chuck64 wrote: Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:29 pm https://apple.news/AOSDFXjOoReyqOUIX38PsKg


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Eris wrote:

Chuck64 wrote: Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:29 pm https://apple.news/AOSDFXjOoReyqOUIX38PsKg


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Charged with murder this quickly? Could it be that they are taking this seriously?

I'm still not going to hold my breath, though.