The officer who shot Atatiana Jefferson, a woman who was playing video games with her nephew in Fort Worth at the time, has resigned. At a news conference on Monday, Interim Police Chief Ed Kraus identified the officer as Aaron Dean, someone who joined the department in 2017 and was commissioned as a police officer in 2018. Kraus said:
“He was placed on detached duty and stripped of his badge and firearm. My intent was to meet with him today to terminate his employment with the FW PD however he tendered his resignation before we met… had the officer not resigned I would have fired him for violations of several policies including use of force, our desescaltion policy, and unprofessional conduct.”
He went on to say there are criminal charges pending and that the case has been presented to the FBI for potential civil rights violations.
Officer Aaron Dean, the man who fired the shot that killed Atatiana Jefferson, was hired by Fort Worth PD in August 2017. Dean resigned before he could be fired, says Chief Edwin Kraus. "Despite his resignation, the officer still faces charges from the major case investigation." pic.twitter.com/boULTBkEun
— WFAA (@wfaa) October 14, 2019
The family wants to see an independent agency conduct the investigation. And they are asking why Jefferson isn’t already under arrest.
WATCH: The brother of Atatiana Jefferson, a 28-year-old black woman shot and killed inside her own home by a white police officer, calls for the arrest of the cop involved. "This man murdered someone," Adarius Carr says. https://t.co/2xs1dCVLkg pic.twitter.com/LQ5oLDSdao
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) October 14, 2019
As for what exactly happened, that is still being pieced today. The officers involved were called to Jefferson’s home after a neighbor called a nonemergency line to say that the 28-year-old’s doors had been open for awhile. The New York Times explains what happened next:
The officers parked about a block away and quietly crept around outside the house, passing by the two open doors and opening a gate to the back yard, according to body camera video.
One officer shone a light through Ms. Jefferson’s bedroom window and, seeing Ms. Jefferson, shot her just seconds after he shouted, “Put your hands up! Show me your hands!”
He never identified himself as a police officer, according to Lt. Brandon O’Neil, a department spokesman. The department said in an initial statement that the officer had perceived “a threat,” but did not elaborate.
Watch the news conference above.