This is HUGE news. 🚨🚨🚨

The former Fort Worth police officer who murdered #AtatianaJefferson has been found GUILTY.

He is facing up to 20 years in prison — the first time an officer has been convicted of manslaughter in Tarrant County.

Phone calls. Emails. Weekends of action. A children's march led by her nephew.

All of it led to today's guilty verdict.

Justice would be Atatiana alive, but we hope that this brings closure to her family.

#BlackLivesMatter #JusticeForAtatiana

This is HUGE news. 🚨🚨🚨

The former Fort Worth police officer who murdered #AtatianaJefferson has been found GUILTY.

He is facing up to 20 years in prison — the first time an officer has been convicted of manslaughter in Tarrant County.

Phone calls. Emails. Weekends of action. A children's march led by her nephew.

All of it led to today's guilty verdict.

Justice would be Atatiana alive, but we hope that this brings closure to her family.

#BlackLivesMatter #JusticeForAtatiana

The jury is now deliberating in the trial of ex-cop Aaron Dean in Fort Worth.

Dean killed 28 year-old Atatiana Jefferson in her home in October of 2019, while responding to an "open structure" call. A neighbor had reported her door as being opened in the early hours of the morning.

As Dean and his partner prowled around the backyard and driveway in the dark, Atatiana noticed noises outside and grabbed her handgun from her purse next to a bedroom window. As Aaron Dean passed the window, he saw the silhouette of Atatiana and yelled "hands! let me see your hands!"

Less than two seconds later, Atatiana Jefferson had a bullet inside her and died in that room.

It has been over three years since that night, and Aaron Dean has finally pleaded his case to a jury. The facts are simple: Aaron Dean acted recklessly and dangerously when investigating Atatiana's home. His negligence, instability, and disregard for safety ended the life of a young woman who babysat her eight year old nephew inside her own home.

Aaron Dean endangered everyone around him that night in 2019, and deserves to be held accountable. For Atatiana's sake.

#JusticeForAtatiana

Here's an update on the trial of Aaron Dean - the cop who killed Atatiana Jefferson in her home over three years ago.

The trial resumes today with arguments from the defense. The prosecution rested their case on Wednesday of last week. Here were some key points of emphasis from the prosecution:

- Atatiana's nephew, Zion, remains an important witness for both the prosecution and defense. The prosecution has used Zion's testimony to help portray Atatiana as responsible and caring; not the reckless gun-wielding woman the defense wants to see her as. The defense has already stated they will refute Zion's testimony because it conflicted between the night of the killing and more recent interviews.

- Dean's partner, Officer Darch, testified about the logistics of their police work the night of the killing. Under questioning from the prosecutor, Darch admitted that Dean was the lead officer and that numerous FWPD general orders and protocol were not followed in the minutes leading up to Dean firing his weapon. They responded to the "open structure" call, treated it as a "silent alarm" (so as to give them the best chance of apprehending a potential burglar), but did not block exits or attempt to contact the homeowner. This is important, mostly because the defense will likely rely on Dean's insistence that he followed protocol in investigating and responding to Atatiana's home that night.

- There remains one key part of Officer Darch's testimony that will help Aaron Dean: the fact that FWPD general orders stipulate that the *only* response to deadly force is deadly force. Dean's defense will argue that a firearm on Atatiana's person was a threat against his life and he acted appropriately. That is clouded, though, by the fact that Dean's body camera (and Darch's testimony) never show Dean alert his partner to the presence of a firearm - leading one to believe he may not have actually seen the gun prior to him firing his weapon.

In my opinion, the defense will present these key arguments: Dean was using appropriate force as he thought his life was in danger (by seeing the gun in Atatiana's hand), that Dean used proper judgment and professionalism in investigating that "open structure" call, and that Atatiana presented a clear and dangerous threat.

To be honest, I think Aaron Dean has a really good chance of being acquitted. It's beyond unfortunate - heartbreaking, really - because Atatiana did not deserve to be killed in her home in the dark morning hours while her nephew slept. Aaron Dean took up the mantle of judge, jury, and executioner yet he has the advantage of using the mechanics of the "justice" system to plead his case. I hope that Aaron Dean's recklessness and negligence will be held to account, but I'm prepared for a dereliction of justice.

#JusticeForAtatiana #TrialOfAaronDean

Update on Day 2 of the Aaron Dean Trial:

The day started with watching a recorded 2019 interview of Atatiana Jefferson's nephew, Zion. This was his interview with officers following the shooting on October 12. The video was difficult to hear and follow, but the most important aspect was Zion telling an officer that he saw his aunt "point" a gun at the window. He had previously testified that she just "held" her firearm after getting it out of her purse - something the defense will use to discredit Zion's testimony and make Atatiana Jefferson seem more threatening.

After the Zion interview, FWPD officer Carol Darch was called to the stand. She was Aaron Dean's partner/assisting officer on-scene during the incident. She walked through different FWPD training policies and protocols before describing details of the pair's investigation in the early morning of October 12. Some very important notes:

- Darch says she felt the home had been, or was being, burglarized upon getting to the scene. She said she was informed by previous "open structure" calls she's worked.

- Darch walked through a FWPD officer's duty belt and pointed out three different "less lethal" weapons: pepper spray, a baton, and a taser.

- Officers approached the scene as a "silent alarm" and did not announce themselves so as to not alert a potential burglar and aid his escape or put officers in danger of confrontation.

- Dean's body camera footage is shown, and shows the two officers sneaking up the side of the house quietly, when Dean sees Atatiana Jefferson in the window, he yells "let me see your hands!" and fires. I would say the shot came less than a second after he finished his words. Dean fired one shot through the window that Killed Atatiana Jefferson.

- Officer Darch testified that she remembers seeing Atatiana Jefferson's face in the window and her eyes being "big as saucers". She testified that she did NOT see Jefferson's hands or a gun, and Aaron Dean did not alert/warn about a gun.

- The defense wants to establish there was a green laser on the gun Jefferson was holding and that laser was visible to Aaron Dean, alerting him to danger.

- On redirect, the prosecution walked through different ways the officers did NOT follow FWPD general orders in their response. They did not secure exits, they did not attempt to contact the homeowner. This will be a dent in the defense of Dean, who holds that he was simply following procedure during this incident.

The Officer Darch's testimony establishes a few notable things. She establishes that the officers were, in fact, "prowling" around the house. They did not announce themselves and Atatiana Jefferson would've had little to no indication that the people walking around her house in the dark were cops. The body camera footage shows an immediate reaction from Dean to use his weapon. There was no way for Jefferson to react to orders from Dean, who instead chose to fire his weapon. The prosecution did a good job of establishing that Dean and Darch did not follow general orders that night, and may have precipitated a killing that could've been avoided.

There were two witnesses after Darch, the 911 "call taker" who received the open structure call from a neighbor; and the neighbor who called 911 to report the open door.

That testimony was relatively uneventful and simply established that Atatiana's neighbor felt it was unusual the her door was open - even though he told 911 that the normal cars were in the driveway and his neighbors were usually at home. The 911 call mostly described the process of receiving calls and assigning them to dispatch.

In all, it was a good day for the prosecution. Darch's testimony wasn't a slam dunk againt Dean, but it established some damning facts. Aaron Dean was lead on the investigation and did not follow FWPD general orders. The officer's did not announce their presence, which should convince a reasonable juror that Atatiana was justified in being vigilant to protect herself in her home.

Day 3 starts at 9am Central, this morning.

#JusticeForAtatiana #TrialOfAaronDean

RT @ebonyplusirony@twitter.com

#JusticeForAtatiana #AtatianaJefferson https://twitter.com/chicquie5/status/1599892154167357440

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/ebonyplusirony/status/1599893737219379200

Update on the Aaron Dean trial today:

(full disclosure - I am not a journalist in or around the courtroom. All information I provide is received and aggregated from journalists on the ground.)

Perhaps the most important development of the morning was a denial of the defense's motion to move the trial out of Tarrant County. The judge rejected the argument that the jury may be swayed by negative media coverage about the trial and the racial overtones of the jury selection, specifically. Aaron Dean will face a jury of his peers.

Opening statements boiled down to the following:

- The defense will argue that Dean was unaware of the exact nature of the call to Jefferson's home, and therefore followed protocol as he would've for any other similar response.

- The prosecution will argue that Dean was, at best, fatally negligent and, at worst, willfully reckless. Their case rests on the fact that Atatiana Jefferson was not committing a crime and could not have expected police to be prowling around her home with guns drawn in the early morning.

The prosecution called Zion Carr, Atatiana's nephew to the stand as a witness. He was eight years old when his aunt was killed by Aaron Dean - he's eleven now. The prosecution mostly calmly chatted with Zion about non-case related things before asking him to recall the events of October 12, 2019. He testified about their night together and his aunt becoming concerned when she heard a noise outside. He also testified that she got a gun out of her purse when investigating the disturbance.

The defense questioned Zion about specifics regarding the night's events and alerted him (and the jury) that some of his statements today conflict with statements he gave in an interview immediately after the shooting. They will attempt to discredit Zion's testimony later in the trial.

Zion has been dismissed and court is adjourned until tomorrow at 9am Central.

If you want live updates, I've found Miranda Suarez of KERA News (local NPR affiliate) to be a great option.

#JusticeForAtatiana #TrialOfAaronDean

The trial of Aaron Dean begins today in Fort Worth. Dean, a FWPD officer, shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson while she was home babysitting her nephew.

Dean was prowling around the home in the dark, responding to a wellness check because of a door being open at the home. Jefferson was inside playing video games with her eight year old nephew.

It has been over three years since Atatiana was killed, and Aaron Dean has been able to delay and avoid justice for each day of those three years. His legal team has consistently stalled - requesting extensions and venue changes. They will still argue the case be tried outside of Tarrant County, where Dean killed Atatiana.

Last week, the jury was selected for Aaron Dean - the white police officer who killed a black woman baby sitting her nephew.

No black jurors were selected.
Our community in Fort Worth has waited too long for Aaron Dean to face justice. I can't imagine how hurt and angry the family and friends of Atatiana have become during each of those years.

I pray that Atatiana, and her family, gets the justice she deserves.

#JusticeForAtatiana

Former Fort Worth police officer stands trial in the 2019 killing of Atatiana Jefferson

#JusticeForAtatiana #PoliceBrutality #BlackLivesMatter
https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/05/us/aaron-dean-trial-atatiana-jefferson-killing/index.html