Days after a woman was fatally shot by the Fort Worth police, the officer who fired one bullet through her bedroom window when responding to a call from a concerned neighbor was arrested and charged with murder.
Although the circumstances have varied, it was yet another example of a white officer killing a black civilian, raising nationwide questions about policing practices and racial profiling. The shock of Saturday’s shooting further strained the relationship between residents and the Fort Worth Police Department.
The woman who was killed, Atatiana Jefferson, had been up late playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew, according to the family’s lawyer. She was shot by an officer, Aaron Y. Dean, who was standing in her backyard with a flashlight and a gun. He resigned on Monday, hours before the police chief had planned to fire him.
Here is what we know about the shooting and its aftermath:
Aaron Dean was released from jail and is not cooperating
Mr. Dean, who had been placed on administrative leave before he resigned, has not answered questions from investigators, said Ed Kraus, the interim police chief.
He was arrested without incident in his lawyer’s office on Monday and released from the Tarrant County jail later that night after posting a $200,000 bond. His lawyer has not responded to calls seeking comment, but he told the local NBC television station that Mr. Dean is sorry and that his family was in shock.
Mr. Dean joined the department in April 2018, one month after completing his classes at the police academy, and the only notable entry in his personnel file was for a traffic accident, Chief Kraus said.
Officer Manny Ramirez, the president of the Fort Worth Police Officers Association, said Mr. Dean had never been the subject of an investigation and was “very shaken up” by the shooting.
Fellow police officers condemned the shooting
Chief Kraus grew emotional this week as he described how the killing would undoubtedly erode the trust that he said officers had worked to build with the people they serve.
“I likened it to a bunch of ants building an ant hill, and somebody comes with a hose and washes it away,” he said. “They just have to start from scratch.”
Chief Kraus said he had spoken to scores of officers who all said they supported the quick move to arrest Mr. Dean and charge him with murder.
Officer Ramirez said he and other officers had been dumbfounded as to why Mr. Dean pulled the trigger. Mr. Ramirez added that there was “no way to explain” his actions.
Atatiana Jefferson wanted to attend medical school
Ms. Jefferson, 28, sold medical pharmaceutical equipment from home while studying to apply to medical school. She had earned a degree in biology from Xavier University of Louisiana in 2014.
Ms. Jefferson was a loving aunt who would play basketball and video games with her nephews, her sister Amber Carr said. She had recently moved in with her mother, who had health problems — and learned about her daughter’s shooting while in a hospital.
The police were responding to a neighbor’s call
One of Ms. Jefferson’s neighbors, James Smith, had called a nonemergency line at 2:23 a.m. on Saturday to express concern that the doors of Ms. Jefferson’s house had been open for several hours.
“I haven’t seen anybody moving around,” he told the dispatcher in a calm voice. “It’s not normal for them to have the doors open this time of night.”
The deadly shooting happened swiftly
Body camera footage released by the Police Department provides some details of the shooting.
Two officers responding to the call parked a block away from Ms. Jefferson’s house before unlatching a fence door and entering the backyard. “Put your hands up! Show me your hands!” Mr. Dean yelled when he saw Ms. Jefferson. He then immediately fired one shot through the glass.
“Nobody looked at that video and said there was any doubt that this officer acted inappropriately,” Chief Kraus said. “I get it. We’re trying to train our officers better.”
The officers did not identify themselves to Ms. Jefferson before she was killed.
Chief Kraus said that the officers believed they were responding to an “open structure” call and appeared to approach the house in that manner, rather than ringing a doorbell or calling into the house.
Community members still have concerns
Hundreds of people gathered in front of Ms. Jefferson’s home on Sunday evening, chanting and calling for Mr. Dean to be prosecuted. On Monday, after the former officer was charged, many were cautious about declaring victory.
“Fort Worth has a culture that has allowed this to happen,” said S. Lee Merritt, a lawyer representing Ms. Jefferson’s family. “There still needs to be a reckoning.”
Many activists thought Amber R. Guyger, a former Dallas police officer, was treated leniently when she was sentenced to 10 years in prison for murdering Botham Shem Jean in his apartment.
So Michael Bell, a pastor in Fort Worth, said he was waiting to see how this current case would be prosecuted. “Our community has experienced so much,” he said. “I don’t want to go overboard and start any kind of celebration because I don’t know how it’s going to turn out.”
The Police Department is familiar with criticism
The previous police chief was fired in May, and observers have noted that Fort Worth officers have fatally shot six people since June. One man who was killed was pointing a flashlight at officers after barricading himself inside a house; they thought it was a rifle.
Other high-profile confrontations include one with a black woman who filed a federal lawsuit in 2017 against a white Fort Worth police officer, claiming that he used excessive force while arresting her and her daughters. In 2009, a man with a history of mental illness died after he was Tasered by the Fort Worth police, which his family had called for help.
In response to a task force’s recommendations, the City Council in September created a police monitor position, set up a police cadet program and began a diversity and inclusion program. After Ms. Jefferson’s death, Mayor Betsy Price said the city was planning to have national experts review the department and its policies.
In this case, rank-and-file officers in the department have largely supported the arrest of Mr. Dean, according to Chief Kraus, who said some officers had thanked him for acting quickly.
At the news conference on Tuesday, Chief Kraus fought back tears as he said the shooting would undoubtedly hurt the relationship between officers and citizens.
“I liken it to a bunch of ants building an ant hill and then somebody comes with a hose and washes it all away and you just have to start from scratch,” he said.
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