Murder warrant for ex-officer says victim was holding gun
Holding a gun inside your home is not illegal in Texas
FORT WORTH, Texas – The murder arrest warrant for a white officer who shot and killed a black woman on Saturday says that the victim was holding a gun after she heard noises outside her window.
But holding a gun inside your home is not illegal in Texas, and the former police officer who shot her was arrested on Monday.
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said on Monday that the gun was irrelevant to the investigation. In Texas, homeowners have a right to be armed on their own property, Price said.
A witness, the woman’s 8-year-old nephew, told a forensic interviewer that after Atatiana Jefferson heard noises outside their home and thought there might be a prowler in the back yard, she reached into her purse, grabbed a handgun and pointed it toward the window, the warrant said.
That’s when Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean shot Jefferson through the window and she fell to the ground, according to the warrant charging Dean with murder.
Bodycam video shows Dean shine his flashlight into a dark bedroom window. “Put your hands up! Show me your hands!” he shouts through the window, his gun drawn. He then immediately fires a single shot through the window, killing Jefferson.
Officer C.A. Darch said that she and Dean were in the back yard standing near a window when Dean shot Jefferson. Darch said she could only see Jefferson’s face at that time, the warrant said.
According to the warrant, the officers never announced their presence.
Jim Lane, Dean’s attorney, said Tuesday that neither he nor his client had any comment regarding the arrest or the case.
At a news conference Tuesday, Interim Police Chief Ed Kraus said it made sense that Jefferson had a gun if she felt threatened by someone being in her yard.
He called Dean’s actions inexcusable.
The two officers, who were responding to a neighbor’s call about open doors at the home, saw the front and side interior doors were open, but the glass storm doors were closed, the warrant says. The family’s vehicles were in the driveway.
Jefferson and her nephew had been playing video games when they heard noises outside, the child told police. He was in the room with Jefferson when Dean shot her, according to the warrant.
Officers called for emergency medical help, who pronounced Jefferson dead when they arrived, according to the warrant. Officers administered first aid but were unsuccessful, the warrant said.
Patrol officers determined how to respond to the open door call they received from dispatch on Saturday, according to Kraus. If the officers perceived that the call was one of a more criminal nature, such as a possible burglary, they would respond ABOVE: one way, Kraus said. However, if the officers approaching thought the open door at the home was simply an oversight, they would respond a different way.
The arrest on Monday of one of their own was met by officers in Fort Worth with thanks, according to Kraus.
“I don’t have any officers saying this action should not have been taken against this individual, this officer. I’m getting the complete opposite response,” Kraus said.
Kraus likened the day-today work police officers do to building an ant hill, and characterized the shooting of a woman inside her home during a welfare check as though someone had come and washed all that work away.
“You have to start all over,” Kraus said Tuesday.
“The officers are hurting,” he said.
Dean, 34, of Arlington, resigned from the Fort Worth Police Department on Monday morning.
Dean was arrested at about 6 p.m. Monday at his attorney’s office, police said. He was booked in the Tarrant County Jail and released on bail later Monday night, according to jail records.
Kraus left the stage after speaking about five minutes Tuesday morning, seemingly overcome with emotion during the news conference. He said he shares the community’s frustration and disappointment with the officer’s actions.
“I ask you please do not let the actions of one officer reflect on the other 1,700,” Kraus said.