Atatiana Jefferson was fatally shot in her home by a former Texas police officer, who will now spend nearly 12 years in prison. When officers responded to an “open structure call” in October 2019 and found Jefferson’s home door open, a white police officer named Aaron Dean had fatally shot her. Jefferson was 28 years old and a black woman. Zion, her now 11-year-old nephew, was present when she was fatally shot. At the time of the killing, he was eight years old.
Dean could have received a 20-year sentence but was found guilty of manslaughter earlier this month instead of murder. According to Fox’s Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate station KDFW, a Tarrant County jury unanimously handed down an 11-year, 10 months, and 12 days term to the offender.
Former Texas Officer Sentenced To Nearly 12 Years For KIlling Atatiana Jefferson
The jury made a ruling after deliberating for an entire day and a half. After the gag order was lifted, Ashley Carr, Jefferson’s sister, responded to the sentence. “Would we want more time? Yes, we would. But that’s what the jury decided,” said Carr while standing outside Jefferson’s home, according to the news station. “This has been hard, guys,” she continued.
“These three years have been hard.” She emphasized Zion’s age while highlighting the gravity of the sentence. “11 years is the same age as Zion. Ten months and 12 days, that’s the day that it happened. There’s a message in this,” she said, according to KDFW. “It may not be the message we wanted and the whole dream, but that is some of it.” The family’s attorney, Lee Merritt, referred to the sentence as “a relief.”
“It wasn’t exactly the justice we all thought Atatiana deserved, but it does represent a historic moment in Fort Worth and Tarrant County,” he said, per KDFW. Per KERA News, in a pointed message to Dean, Carr said, “I have loathed the idea of you with your family during the holiday seasons for the last three years. Today, I have just arrived at pity.” She asserted that she thinks the former officer has no intention of truly repenting.
She also said, “I pity you for your ignorance. You do not know enough to be ashamed.” According to NBC News, Carr made a moving victim impact statement in which she compared her late sister to “a lovely flower just about to bloom.” She added, “My sister did not do anything wrong. She was in her home, which should have been the safest place for her to be.”
On October 12, 2019, around 2:30 a.m., police in Fort Worth, Texas, responded to an “open structure call” in the 1200 block of E. Allen Avenue. Jefferson was killed in the process. Jefferson’s front door was open, so a neighbor notified the police about it. When the neighbor called, Jefferson and Zion were playing video games, but the Texas woman’s front door was open, so the neighbor merely asked the police to check on her out of worry for her safety.
According to Michael “Britt” London, head of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, an “open structure” or “open door call” differs greatly from a wellness check. Officers are normally extra attentive when responding to an “open structure” call because the complaint may be anything from a door that was unintentionally left unlocked to a burglary, which would be more dangerous.
Body-camera footage from many news sites showed two cops walking around the side of the house while one officer with a flashlight went up to a closed first-floor window. The cop raised his weapon and said, “Put your hands up! Show me your hands!” Before firing the shot, the officer, later named Dean, did not identify himself as a police officer.
