Killing of Atatiana Jefferson

Atatiana Jefferson Atatiana Koquice Jefferson (November 28, 1990 – October 12, 2019) was a 28-year-old African American woman and pre-medical graduate student of Xavier University of Louisiana from where she graduated in 2014. Relatives said she worked in human resources. Dean's training records from his first year on the job note concerns from supervisors. These concerns included that he had "tunnel vision" and "needs improvement on communicating with the public and fellow officers." Dean's most recent performance evaluation was made in the spring of 2019, where he received high marks from a supervisor. == Killing ==

Welfare call It has been reported that just prior to 2:30 a.m on the morning of October 12, 2019, police received a "welfare call" from the neighborhood of Hillside Morningside, noting that the front door to someone's home was open. Body camera footage Body camera footage released by the Fort Worth Police Department shows that two officers had walked quietly around the side of the home. Dean had walked into Jefferson's backyard. Seeing Jefferson in the window of her home, the officer yelled "put your hands up! Show me your hands!" and then fired a single shot through Jefferson's window. Nephew's account Jefferson's eight-year-old nephew told the authorities that while playing video games they heard noises outside the window. The nephew testified that Jefferson took her gun from her purse and walked to the window holding it at her side while looking out the window, before she was shot. The nephew's account was used as the basis for the arrest warrant. Interim Chief Kraus stated that it, "makes sense that she would have a gun if she felt that she was being threatened or there was someone in the backyard." According to the Jefferson family attorney Lee Merritt, the firearm was lawfully owned and Jefferson had a concealed carry license. Death Jefferson was killed by the shot and pronounced dead at the scene at 3:05 am. Police officers stated that they attempted to provide emergency medical care to Jefferson but were unsuccessful. == Investigation, arrest and indictment ==

Police officials stated that the officer fired after perceiving a threat. Manny Ramirez, the president of the Fort Worth Police Officers Association, said Dean had never been the subject of a police investigation. Kraus said Dean refused to cooperate with investigators and had not allowed Kraus to question him. Dean had not given an oral or written statement to investigators. Ramirez said he and other officers with knowledge of the situation were dumbfounded as to why Dean would have fired his weapon in this situation. Ramirez also said there was no way to explain Dean's actions. Based on footage from Dean's body camera which captured the shooting, a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was arrested at his attorney's office on October 14, 2019, and charged with murder. He was given a $200,000 bond, which he posted, and was released about three hours later. == Trial ==

In October 2020, Tarrant County judge David Hagerman set a tentative date of August 2021 for Dean's trial. After being initially delayed due to a backlog in the courts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the trial was rescheduled in November 2021 to begin on January 10, 2022. In December 2021, the trial was delayed again, to May 2022, due to two defense witnesses being unavailable in January. At that time, Dean's defense attorneys filed a motion for a change of venue, claiming that local media coverage had made it impossible for their client to receive a fair and impartial trial in Tarrant County. On May 4, 2022, Judge Hagerman denied the defense's change of venue motion but granted another postponement, this one due to health issues being experienced by Dean's lead attorney. The new trial date was set for June 23. On May 16, Dean's attorneys filed a motion asking Judge Hagerman for yet another delay, as they claimed to have higher priority cases in May and June and "cannot be ready" by June 23 because of the preparation time required to meet their caseload. During a hearing on June 3, Dean's attorneys claimed their own personal vacation plans should be considered for a further delay of the trial, but Hagerman denied their request and confirmed that the trial would begin on June 23. On June 9, Dean's attorneys filed a motion asking for Judge Hagerman to be replaced, claiming that he had "grown increasingly hostile, overbearing and rude" to them. On June 13, Tarrant County judge George Gallagher agreed to yet another delay in the trial pending the result of a hearing on the defense's recusal motion. On June 28, judge Lee Gabriel approved the defense's recusal motion, removing Hagerman from presiding over the trial. After Hagerman's recusal, the trial was assigned to Judge Gallagher and delayed again. On August 18, 2022, a new trial date of December 5 was set, with jury selection slated to begin on November 28. In November, Dean's attorneys filed another change of venue motion, claiming that their client could not get a fair trial in Tarrant County because former Fort Worth mayor Betsy Price and former police chief Ed Kraus had made public comments about the killing of Jefferson in the days after the shooting. The second change of venue motion was denied and the trial began on December 5, 2022. On December 15, 2022, Dean was found not guilty of murder but guilty of the lesser included offense of manslaughter. == Federal civil rights lawsuit ==

The Jefferson family has been represented by John Coyle of the law firm McEldrew Purtell and Lee Merritt of the Merritt Law Firm, with the assistance of the MacArthur Justice Center. On May 19, 2021, a federal civil rights lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of Texas against Dean and the City of Fort Worth. Dean moved to dismiss the case arguing he was entitled to qualified immunity, but this motion was denied by the court. Dean appealed that decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which held oral argument on the case on December 3, 2024. The Fifth Circuit panel was comprised of Judge James C. Ho, Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt, and Judge Dana Douglas. == Reactions ==

memorial in Minneapolis, 2021 Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price called the event "tragic" and promised a "complete and thorough investigation" by police chief Ed Kraus. Jefferson's funeral was paid for by two professional athletes, former Dallas Mavericks player Harrison Barnes and Philadelphia Eagles player Malik Jackson. A GoFundMe was also created by the family lawyer on behalf of the family. The case has been cited as a cause of loss of trust in law enforcement. During a press conference in the days following the shooting, Kraus became emotional as he compared the erosion of public trust to ants working to build an anthill, when "somebody comes with a hose and washes it away and they just have to start from scratch." ==See also==