Former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean’s murder trial in the 2019 killing of Atatiana Jefferson entered its second day in court on Tuesday. The ex-cop is said to have been responding to a “non-emergency” call from a concerned neighbor on October 12 that year, after being informed about Atatiana’s front door being left open.
Body camera footage later showed how Aaron approached the back of the home and entered through a gated fenced-off backyard with his flashlights on before spotting Atatiana through a glass window, which prompted him to shoot her a split-second after demanding her to raise her hands. Police found a handgun near the 28-year-old victim, who had been playing video games with her eight-year-old nephew, Zion Carr, prior to the disturbance.
After years of delays, a former Fort Worth police officer, Aaron Dean, goes on trial today for murdering a Black woman, Atatiana Jefferson, in her home in 2019. Eight men and six women were chosen for the jury, and none of them are Black. pic.twitter.com/XJJF4mqiHG
— Jo Lorenz • The Progressivists (@iamjolorenz) December 5, 2022
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The court heard that Atatiana drew her gun after hearing some sort of commotion right outside of her home, which would make sense considering it was early morning and still dark outside. To make matters worse, however, neither Aaron nor his fellow responding officer ever disclosed their identity while at the house. During his testimony, Zion, told the court that he did see his aunt pull out her gun when she began to hear noises coming from the back of the property. He added that her weapon was only ever pointed “down” when she went to see what was going on, with Aaron’s legal representatives arguing she may have actually held it up, which would turn the scenario into a self-defense incident.
Zion did admit to not remembering every detail given of the horrific incident given the traumatic events that would follow seconds later.
“She just held it next to her side, she just like, she didn’t point it up, she just kept it next to her,” Zion explained to prosecutors, who argued that his previous statement asserted that his Atatiana may have held the gun up “a little bit.” The argument made here is that if Atatiana had held her gun up directly at Aaron when he approached the home; he may have been fearing for his life and acted in self-defense.
I dont know why it’s not but Atatiana Jefferson’s name isn’t trending because this case is gonna say a lot about who the castle doctrine applies to. #SayHerName #AtatianaJefferson
— Katana Covington (@Kontainer) December 6, 2022
Zion remembered how his aunt fell to the floor after being shot, “crying” and “shaking,” which the young boy said had such an effect on him at that moment, he thought he was dreaming. It was then argued that Aaron was simply doing his job when he circled around the house because the interior of the home looked like it had been “ransacked.”
Aaron’s attorney Miles Brissette, contended that the evidence shown on the bodycam footage clearly indicates that their client’s actions were reasonable and nothing further than a “tragic accident.” Dean has pleaded not guilty and was freed on a $200,000 bond. The trial remains ongoing.