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‘This Man Murdered Someone’: Family Demands Answers in Fort Worth Police Shooting Fort Worth Police Officer Who Shot a Woman in Her Home Has Resigned
(about 1 hour later)
FORT WORTH — Atatiana Jefferson’s family has a lot of questions. Why did a police officer shoot her in her own home? Why didn’t he identify himself as an officer? What is his name? And maybe their biggest question of all: Will he be charged? FORT WORTH — The Fort Worth police officer who shot and killed a 28-year-old woman as she was playing video games with her nephew in her home resigned only hours before he was going to be fired, the authorities said on Monday.
Two days after a Fort Worth police officer shot Ms. Jefferson, 28, through her bedroom window, killing her with a single shot, her family on Monday demanded answers, and said the officer should face criminal charges. Ed Kraus, the Fort Worth police chief, identified the officer as Aaron Dean and said he had been with the department since April 2018. He said the department had launched a criminal investigation into the shooting, and that he expected a “substantial update” on the case by Tuesday.
Mr. Kraus said that he had reached out to the F.B.I. about potentially launching a civil rights investigation into the shooting. Mr. Dean, who is white, shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson, who is black, through her bedroom window, killing her with a single shot. Her family on Monday demanded answers, and said the officer should face criminal charges.
“This man murdered someone,” Ms. Jefferson’s brother, Darius Carr, said at a news conference on Monday. “He should be arrested.”“This man murdered someone,” Ms. Jefferson’s brother, Darius Carr, said at a news conference on Monday. “He should be arrested.”
The family also demanded that an outside agency investigate the shooting, saying they did not trust the Fort Worth Police Department to conduct an impartial inquiry.The family also demanded that an outside agency investigate the shooting, saying they did not trust the Fort Worth Police Department to conduct an impartial inquiry.
“Why this man is not in handcuffs right now is a source of continued agitation for this family and for this community, and it must be addressed,” said S. Lee Merritt, a lawyer for the family.“Why this man is not in handcuffs right now is a source of continued agitation for this family and for this community, and it must be addressed,” said S. Lee Merritt, a lawyer for the family.
Ms. Jefferson had been up late playing Xbox with her 8-year-old nephew, who was still in the room when she was shot.Ms. Jefferson had been up late playing Xbox with her 8-year-old nephew, who was still in the room when she was shot.
The police officer who fired the fatal shot has not been identified, but the department said he was white and had been with the department since April 2018. Ms. Jefferson, who is black, died in her bedroom after officers tried to provide medical assistance, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office. Ms. Jefferson died in her bedroom after officers tried to provide medical assistance, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office.
Two police officers drove to her home after her neighbor called a nonemergency line at 2:23 a.m. Saturday and asked for officers to check on the house because its front and side doors had been open for several hours. The officers parked about a block away and quietly crept around the house, passing by the two open doors and opening a gate to the back yard, according to body camera video. Two police officers drove to her home after her neighbor called a nonemergency line at 2:23 a.m. Saturday and asked for officers to check on the house because its front and side doors had been open for several hours. The officers parked about a block away and quietly crept around outside the house, passing by the two open doors and opening a gate to the back yard, according to body camera video.
One officer shone a light through Ms. Jefferson’s bedroom window and, seeing her, shot her just seconds after he shouted, “Put your hands up! Show me your hands!” One officer shone a light through Ms. Jefferson’s bedroom window and, seeing Ms. Jefferson, shot her just seconds after he shouted, “Put your hands up! Show me your hands!”
He never identified himself as a police officer, according to Lt. Brandon O’Neil, a department spokesman. The department said in an initial statement that the officer had perceived “a threat,” but did not elaborate.He never identified himself as a police officer, according to Lt. Brandon O’Neil, a department spokesman. The department said in an initial statement that the officer had perceived “a threat,” but did not elaborate.
Ms. Jefferson, who went by Tay, had studied biology at Xavier University of Louisiana and was studying to apply to medical school. She had returned to Fort Worth from Dallas to take care of her mother, who was in declining health, her family said.
About 500 people gathered on Sunday night at a vigil for Ms. Jefferson near her mother’s home, as Ms. Jefferson’s cat peeked out from behind the house’s blinds. Some protesters split off from the vigil and marched down a road, peacefully confronting police officers who had stayed away from the vigil, but remained nearby. Marina Trahan Martinez reported from Fort Worth, Texas, and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Sarah Mervosh from New York. Dave Montgomery contributed reporting from Austin, Texas.
The Rev. Kyev Tatum, a pastor at New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth, said he was at Ms. Jefferson’s house on Saturday morning when they removed her body. He said that black residents in Fort Worth had for years dealt with abuse from the police.
“We were waiting for years for someone to hear our cries for help about the Fort Worth Police Department,” he said, citing cases that stretch back more than a decade, including the death of Michael Jacobs Jr., a black man who died in 2009 after the police shocked him with a Taser for nearly a minute.
Mr. Tatum said residents would not be satisfied until the officer who killed Ms. Jefferson was charged.
“No ifs, ands or buts about it,” he said. “We’re asking, if the mayor is serious, that they arrest this officer for murder.”
The police found a gun in Ms. Jefferson’s bedroom but have not said whether she was holding it. Officer Manny Ramirez, president of the Fort Worth Police Officers Association, urged the department to conduct a transparent investigation and said Ms. Jefferson had “every right to have a firearm in that house.”
The county medical authorities have not yet listed the official manner and cause of her death. Roger Metcalf, the chief of identification services, said examiners would conduct additional tests, get videos from the Police Department and speak with officers before making those determinations.