|
Atatiana Jefferson, 28, was shot dead by Dean, who is white,
while standing in her home with a handgun after hearing noises
outside. Afterward, Dean resigned from the force and police
later charged him with murder.
Dean and his partner had gone to Jefferson's home after a
concerned neighbor called police to say her front door was open.
She was playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew when Dean
arrived and crept around the back of the home, gun drawn,
according to his arrest warrant and bodycam video.
Jefferson heard noises, pulled her handgun out of her purse and
pointed it at a bedroom window, her nephew had told police at
the time, according to the warrant.
Jefferson's death took place about seven months before the
murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer who knelt
on his neck for over eight minutes. Floyd's death led to global
demonstrations against racism and police brutality.
Fort Worth Police Department had said in 2019 that Dean violated
a series of police policies.
Dean's attorneys said he fired in self-defense, but prosecutors
had argued there was no evidence of him seeing a gun in
Jefferson's hand before firing through the bedroom window.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas; Editing by Stephen
Coates)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
