A former police officer stands trial for shooting and killing a black woman in her mother’s home back in October 2019. The question before jurors is whether defendant Aaron Dean‘s actions constituted murder. Authorities said victim Atatiana Jefferson, 28, was at her mother’s home playing video games with her nephew when Dean, then an officer with the Fort Worth Police Department, performed a botched welfare check.
James Smith, who was neighbors with the homeowner Yolanda Carr, told the BBC in a 2020 report that he called police to perform a welfare check after his niece and nephew saw that the lights of her home were on and the front door was open on the early morning of Oct. 12, 2019. He thought that it was strange that Carr’s lawnmower and gardening equipment were plugged in. This was not an emergency call. Smith said he expected an officer to just knock on the door and see if his neighbor was fine. He did not know that Carr was in the hospital for her heart condition. Instead, Carr’s 8-year-old grandson and daughter Atatiana were up playing video games.
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WATCH LIVE: Aaron Dean Sentencing in Atatiana Jefferson Shooting Death
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Liar Liar pants on fire!!!
He shot her 0.67 seconds after appearing in her window; she didn't even had time to react before he fired the fatal shot.
Awful sound level!
There going to find this guy innocent just because the prosecutor is an a@@hole.
He did an amber heard, trying to cry when he thinks it’s needed and then right back to regular straight face. Only thing he’s crying about is that he’s in trouble and THATS IT
He’s such a fraud, and he took so long to render any aid because he was celebrating in his head that he finally got to shoot someone.
I think what is really guilty in this case is the system he should have known hey this does not feel right lets back out and call for Back up and get a second opinion all the while they just could have had eyes on the home untill back up arrived as they were just around the corner
If this guy had a bottle of liquor, he would have down it in no time 😂 this prosecutor is grilling him 😮
Notice how the dry sniffing ceased as soon as cross examination started. He is a shocking actor….
The most intelligent people in society are not police officers!
Worst. Cop. EVER.
I know this trial is over but this guy reminds me of amber heard testifying by always looking at the jury
100. HE IS ACTUALLY A TRIPLE MURDERER. HER MOTHER AND FATHER HAVE DIED VIA GRIEF…
Overall this "hero" did a good job. He didn't shoot everyone in that wrong house. God knows that happens a lot with those einsteins.
He looks so remorseful! Almost came up with a tear there for a second. Now big boys will be telling you to put your hands up in the shower. Have fun .
He would've been better off pleading guilty.. and admitting he made a huge mistake by pulling the trigger. Hair split decision gone wrong.
I understand wanting to take the stand, but this is exactly why defendants do not take the stand, he literally convicted himself with his testimony.
He word for word proved how untrained, how irresponsible and how out of touch police policies are today.
Bottom line, the police came onto private property without permission, without identifying themselves and in the dark of night proceeded to roam her property she had no way of knowing who it was, what their intentions were and she has every right under state and federal law to draw her firearm and protect herself and her family.
The officer was wrong, the policies are wrong and it cost an innocent woman her life and she died in pain and fear because of his incompetent actions and now they are trying to defend it.
Did Aaron fail his psychological exam? If that was the case, why did he get a job?
I didn't buy his testimony one bit, I hate to say it but his testimony felt fake to me and I don't believe he saw the gun pointed at him, I think he had already made up his mind before he even arrived that this was a burglary and that anyone inside was a burglar.
This was murder, she was innocent.
Bottom line here, whether you want to blame the officer or the police procedures, by Dean's own testimony he assumed this was a burglary in process before he even arrived.
They drive there without lights and sirens, parked on a side street, approached the house without warning or even attempting to communicate or give warning to their presence, they entered private property without permission without attempting to get permission or even find out if the home owner was home, they proceeded to walk around the victims property without permission gun drawn looking into her window, without even giving warning that he was an officer he gave her a command and within 2 seconds shot her through the window and killed her.
This woman did nothing wrong, she exercised her 2nd Amendment right to defend her home and her nephew, all she knew was that someone was outside her home and looking through her property and into her window, if she had shot this officer through the window first she would have been justified and the officer would be in the wrong as it was her right to defend herself.
So why are we here? The police once again are trying to confuse the jury and justify this officers actions, he murdered that woman based on his own assumption that there was a burglary being committed because she had a dirty house and the door was open. If this is policy then policy needs to change but none of this can take away the fact that if these officers had attempted to communicate into the home, had their lights or sirens on this woman would be alive today and her nephew would not be scarred for life.
The police have to be held accountable, an innocent woman lost her life it doesn't matter what his intentions were he is the cause of that loss of life, to protect and serve doesn't mean to protect police officers from their own actions or the dept for their failed policies.
Aren’t they suppose to holler gun so his partner would know???
Oh wow give me a break. No real tears
If the same scenario plays out, and he shoots a perpetrator, he would be dubbed a hero. Funny how things can align in life. Good neighbor, good daughter (aunt/sister), good cop. All facts and factors align with a horrible outcome.
😮
Everyone is forgetting that he never announced himself and as a citizen if he had came in my yard he would of got shot first she was to slow to shoot back
I hope this dude went back during the lunch break and told his lawyers to object to this prosecutor SCREAMING at him as badgering and harassing the witness. I hope he asked his lawyers to object to this “grading” his work performance because it’s IRRELEVANT!
It would be nice if we could see the pictures of the body cam video the expert is explaining to us…🙄
Just like Breanna
Where are the defense attorneys? Over there sleeping
grill him. prosecutor is prosecuting "more bad police work" never did cpr
This prosecuter is amazing.
lucky i dont make beat. id sample the coughing in the back with the sniffling up front, you got a hit. rip to that young lady
who brings a kid to a burglary was your thought huh
Why does camera man focus on witness and not pictures ????
Everything this guy did was wrong before even encountering Atatiana. Most rookies would have been more responsible.
What’s truly unfortunate is that, all the corrupt police officers that have intentionally killed people in the past, have made it impossible for the good ones to make a tragic mistake. So even if he did it to intentionally kill an innocent , or he made a in the moment nervous mistake.. people will now judge with emotion and anger for all the hurt caused by police in general rather than look at each individual circumstance objectively . I’ve had personal experiences myself with violent power corrupt cops, but I’ve also had experience with kind ones as well. The bad will always overshadow the good, and that’s all the world will see when tragedy’s happen. Both people involved were armed, and when situations like that arise … one will always end up hurt or worse . Guns kill . People should not have that kind of power, to take a life so easily .
He seems arrogant!!
From inside that poor woman's window, all she could see was dark. Lights on in the room she was standing in would make the night seem even blacker outside. No way she could see him UNTIL the officer shines a light in her face. THERE IS NO WAY SHE COULD HAVE KNOWN HE WAS A POLICE OFFICER BECAUSE HE DID NOT IDENTIFY NOR COULD SHE SEE HIM IN FULL UNIFORM BECAUSE SHE WAS BEING BLINDED.
Nice try with the fake sob story…he doesn’t feel bad. If he did, he would have been the one to be so eager to get inside and RENDER AID to the person he just shot! What a dirt bag.
This is a very complicated case and the biased opinions on the both sides just show how incompetent people are when it comes to critical thinking
He had to defend himself..
He sounds so callous , almost like yeah I shot her , I didn’t do a great job but Oh well it’s shocking to see how little he cares about taking a life
Why was the home all messed up like a robbery?
With all due respect for the family of the victim….she also had a choice to call the police before grabbing a gun from her purse with a child in the same room with her.
As it’s written in the more accounts of this case the neighbor called for a welfare check NOT a home invasion 🤔. Did not call for backup.
First, I have not made a decision either way. Clearly he is not the best police officer and made costly mistakes which caused the death of this poor woman which is just horrible, but to be charged criminal does he not need to have mal intent? The state has not shown a pattern or any prior incidents for that matter of excessive force yet. If this was a civil case, he would be guilty to me immediately, but criminal, I do not know yet. She tragically lost her life, but his life is over as well due to his actions. Granted he is still breathing for now, but how long will it take for his guilt to have him take his own life? Please don’t blast me. There are no winners here at all. Perhaps the state will show he was evil in his actions rather than making huge mistakes when he clearly cracked under pressure. For sure the screening and training process for officers needs to be improved, but unless you are in that actual life and death situation, how does one know how they will react? I am thankful for all our first responders as U know I could never do their jobs. Happy holidays all!
WHY did Aaron Dean RESIGN so FAST? Last Week, the 911 Lady Operator said Dean or Darch could have RADIOED Dispatch for Follow Up/ More Detail about the CALL? He HEARD her, admitted he HEARD her last breath(s); DID NOT RENDER FIRST AID. . .WHY did he immediately PICK up HER GUN (contaminating scene) and TAKE OUT the bullets? WHY didn't HE check the gun to SEE IF SAFETY WAS ON/off?
I'm watching DAY 5; Dr. Jay Coons-Use of Force expert. I just checked the internet about: Shoot First, Ask Questions, Later. DISTURBING Articles like this one; TRAINING Officers to Shoot First, and He Will Answer Questions Later-New York Times; 3 1/4 pages; Date 2/8/2015. Go DOWN to INATTENTIONAL BLINDNESS Gaps in observation and memory. [brain says one thing, hand(s) say another]. Brain is focused on one Task, that it Blocks out everything else! Officers version of events is DISPROVED by Video(s) or Forensic Evidence. A Mr. Lewinski Teaches and Justified Shootings and HE has testified in many cases and get Officers off. . . .his "radical" views could be used to justify "nearly any Police shootings"! READ WHOLE Article; a couple Cases sighted and STILL being used in "justified shootings"! VERY DISTURBING to me! ! ! ! ! !
I wish we could hear the attorneys better
I don't believe she pointed the gun at him. Because not once did he mention the green laser beam blinding him or alert him that a firearm was pointed at him
He said the gun itself… If the officer saw the gun being pointed he'd surely would've been blinded by or notice the green light on the gun prior to his entry into the home not after the shooting.
Terrible defense attorneys