A Texas Woman Was Fatally Shot By Police In Her Own Home
UPDATED, Oct. 15 at 9:15 a.m.: Aaron Dean, the police officer involved in the shooting, resigned from the department on Monday morning. He was later arrested and charged with murder. Activists and family members have told CNN they are calling for an independent federal investigation into the incident.
On Saturday, a 28-year-old woman was shot and killed by police in her home in Fort Worth, Texas.
According to NBC News, police were called for a welfare check on a residence with a door that was ajar when an officer opened fire on Atatiana Jefferson, killing her while she was inside the home.
Body camera footage shows the perspective of an officer outside the residence, looking into a window using a flashlight, spotting someone inside standing near a window. The officer is heard saying, "Put your hands up — show me your hands," before shooting seconds later. At no point does he identify himself as an officer. The shooting occurred less than two weeks after an officer in nearby Dallas was found guilty of fatally shooting a man in his home; in both cases, the officers are white and the victims were Black.
CNN reports that at the time of the shooting, Jefferson had been playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew while his grandmother was in the hospital, and he was steps away when she was shot.
"It's senseless," her father Marquis Jefferson told CNN affiliate KTVT. "You have to know that was somebody's daughter ... Somebody loved her, and there was a better way. It didn't have to be like that."
At around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, police arrived after a neighbor called them, concerned that Jefferson's front door was open. The neighbor, James Smith, told the Fort Worth Star that he called a non-emergency police phone number because he was worried, and was trying to be a good neighbor.
"I’m shaken. I’m mad. I’m upset. And I feel it’s partly my fault," he said. "If I had never dialed the police department, she’d still be alive."
Following the news, people began to denounce the shooting, calling for a reform of policing and sending their thoughts for Jefferson's family.
When we tell you we don’t have to be anything other than Black to be killed by those sworn to “serve and protect,” believe us. The first time.
You’re denial continues to harm us, because the police keep killing us.
Just for existing. #AtatianaJefferson https://t.co/Cv865G7Nfe— brittany packnett cunningham (@MsPackyetti) October 13, 2019
Atatiana Jefferson was in her home playing video games when she was murdered by a police officer who took only four seconds to shoot an unarmed and innocent 28 year old woman. May she rest in power. May we never forget her name. May we rage in her memory. #AtatianaJefferson
— roxane gay (@rgay) October 13, 2019
“She was a premed graduate of Xavier University. She was very close to her family. She was the auntie that stayed up on Friday night playing video games with her 8 year old nephew. She worked in pharmaceutical equipment sales.” #SayHerName Atatiana Jefferson. pic.twitter.com/PR0isSINuv
— Emily M. Farris (@emayfarris) October 13, 2019
May your ancestors embrace you and lift you up, Dear Sister. Please help guide our rage and our tears towards justice for you - and justice for all. #AtatianaJefferson pic.twitter.com/egDVv4YBTr
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) October 13, 2019
How many articles do we need to read or videos do we need to watch before we do something to reform policing in this country?
Police are supposed to make us safer in our community, not make us unsafe in our own homes.https://t.co/lGph1vawAe— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) October 12, 2019
The officer gave Atatiana Jefferson four seconds to respond before shooting and killing her.
Being Black in your own home shouldn't be a death sentence. https://t.co/92CLDWm85Y— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 13, 2019
According to CBS, the officer involved in the shooting is on leave, pending the results of the investigation, and is expected to be questioned on Monday. "What the officer observed and why he did not announce police will be addressed as the investigation continues," Fort Worth Police Lt. Brandon O'Neil said.
