Police chief: ‘absolutely no excuse’ for killing

FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth’s police chief reiterated Tuesday that a white officer’s killing of a black woman in her home was inexcusable, as an arrest warrant was released quoting the victim’s 8yearold nephew as saying she pointed a gun at a bedroom window after hearing suspicious noises outside.

Interim Chief Ed Kraus said 28yearold Atatiana Jefferson behaved as any Texas homeowner would have if he or she had heard a prowler. Also, the arrest warrant gave no indication that Officer Aaron Dean would have even been able to see the weapon through the glass.

Kraus declared there was “absolutely no excuse” for the shooting, which happened while Jefferson was staying up late playing video games with her nephew.

The new details were released a day after Dean resigned and was arrested on murder charges for firing a single bullet through the window early Saturday while investigating a neighbor’s report about the front door being left open at Jefferson’s home.

Police bodycam video showed Dean making his way around the side of the house into the backyard in the darkness and opening fire a split second after shouting at Jefferson to show her hands. He did not identify himself as a police officer.

In the arrest warrant, Jefferson’s nephew said his aunt had pulled a gun from her purse and pointed it at a bedroom window.

“The gun was found just inside the room, but it makes sense that she would have a gun if she felt that she was being threatened or if there was someone in the backyard,” the chief said.

The arrest warrant notes that the other officer at the scene told authorities she could see only Jefferson’s face through the window when Dean fired. Dean’s own bodycam video showed that the view through the window was obstructed by the reflection from his flashlight.

Dean resigned without talking to internal affairs investigators, and what he saw and why he opened fire remained unclear.

Dean, 34, was released from jail on $200,000 bail less than four hours after his arrest. He resigned Monday before his arrest; the chief said he would have been fired if he hadn’t quit. Police also referred the case to the FBI for possible federal civil rights charges.