Family of Texas Woman Killed by Cop In Her Own Home Speaks Out: 'We Demand Justice for Atatiana'

The family of Atatiana Jefferson, a black Texas woman who was fatally shot in her own home by a white police officer during a wellness check, is demanding justice.

“This man murdered someone. He should be arrested,” Darius Carr, Jefferson’s brother, said of Fort Worth Police Officer Aaron Dean during a news conference Monday.

Jefferson was killed early Saturday morning when Fort Worth police responded to a welfare call in the 1200 block of E. Allen Avenue at around 2:30 a.m. A neighbor called authorities to report Jefferson’s front door was open, according to CNN.

Jefferson had been playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew when the call was made. The neighbor who called police used the department’s non-emergency line and asked for a wellness check out of concern for her safety.

“What I witnessed was three or four tactical officers come from around the corner … And in less than a minute, I heard gunshots,” the neighbor, James Smith, said, according to CBS News.

Body-camera footage, released by the police and shared by multiple outlets, showed two officers walking around the side of the house as one officer approached a closed first-floor window with a flashlight. After raising his gun, the officer screamed, “Put your hands up! Show me your hands!”

The officer, later identified as Aaron Dean, apparently never identified himself as police before firing.

“There is simply no justification for his actions,” Ashley Carr said at the family’s press conference, according to USA Today. “We demand justice for Atatiana thorough an independent and thorough investigation.”

On Monday afternoon, Dean resigned, NBC News reports. He was originally placed on administrative leave and had been with FWPD since April 2018.

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Dean still faces criminal charges and he resigned hours before being fired.

“Had the officer not resigned, I would have fired him for violations for several policies, including our use of force policy, our de-escalation policy and unprofessional conduct,” Interim Police Chief Ed Kraus said at a separate news conference Monday, according to NBC News.

An attorney for Jefferson’s family created a GoFundMe page to cover “funeral cost and other expenses associated with this tragedy.”

“I mean it’s senseless,” Marquis Jefferson, who was a father figure to Jefferson, told CBS News. “My daughter…had her whole life in front of her.”