TX - Atatiana Jefferson, 28, fatally shot at home, Fort Worth, Oct 2019 *officer charged*

[Artis]

I understand and agree with Gardenista. Cops are trained to shoot to kill. IMO, this is a legacy of the tough-on-crime rhetoric of the 80s. Everything is a threat and they must be neutralized. Obviously this isn't helped by the millions of guns out there. If I was a cop, bloody heck I'd want to be home with my family at the end of the day.

That does not mean it's right. We are not a lawless impoverished wild west country where it's every person to their own. We are the freaking richest country on the face of the earth. If we are continuing to behave like the wild west, there's something wrong here.

We might be better served in a wild west type of liberty. Everyone would be responsible for their own safety and that would including shooting intruders if it came to that. Our founders never intended that any special class of people would be able to do what is unlawful for the rest of us.

ETA: As for shooting to kill, I'm not a gun owner but always understood that when you fire a weapon you do it to kill. I think the NRA, Gun Owners of America, etc, all teach that. You go for the body mass. IOW, pointing and firing a gun is serious s**t so you'd better be clear about what you're doing and NOT do it if there is no threat.

 

[nrdsb4]

He's probably applying for a new job in a different city.

I still don't understand why he wasn't interviewed until today. I don't understand what right LEOs have that allows them to just go home and get their story straight before being interviewed. This has to stop.

Right to remain silent?

 

[grammieto5]

Aaron Dean is not cooperating. Per Chief.

Does this mean he already has a lawyer and so now he doesn't have to answer any questions. I wonder why he hasn't been arrested. If she had shot him she would be in jail.

 

[Artis]

IMO if she had fired shots she would have ended up getting killed anyway. She literally had zero options, zero decisions. She was executed.

You bet. The other cops there would have responded to an "officer down" situation and stormed her house and killed her.

 

[Artis]

If her window was closed, she might not even have heard the commands he shouted at her.

But it sounds like he was so fast on the trigger, she didn't have time to follow the commands even if she heard them.

This sounds like the case of a fearful cop who did not have the emotional fitness to do the job prudently. Way too jumpy and fast on the trigger.

He may as well have just yelled, "Bang, you're dead", because that's how fast it went down.

 

[TexLil]

Does this mean he already has a lawyer and so now he doesn't have to answer any questions. I wonder why he hasn't been arrested. If she had shot him she would be in jail.

IMO yes he has a lawyer and very likely lawyer has advised him not to talk. MOO

IMO I would expect charges later today or tomorrow since chief advised they would provide update on charges tomorrow. MOO but I don't see them announcing charges at press conference BEFORE arresting him.

 

[nrdsb4]

I am OUTRAGED !

This LEO should be named and accused of murder.

She had a legal right to protect herself against an unknown and armed assailant who she could clearly see was brandishing a weapon at her

How do you think it was "clear" she could see someone brandishing a weapon at her? She was in a lighted room looking outside where people with dark clothing were pointing a flashlight.

She was likely frightened by the noises she heard in her back yard, saw a flashlight, then was shot completely "out of the blue," as far as she was concerned. That's what is even more awful to me. I think she got as far as "what is that noise" and nowhere near ready to assert her Castle Doctrine privileges. It happened just that fast.

 

[Artis]

Katy Blakey (@KatyBlakeyNBC5) | Twitter
Former Fort Worth police Chief Joel Fitzgerald released statement regarding deadly shooting through his attorney. Fitzgerald is fighting to get his job back.
View attachment 208917
View attachment 208916

Wow, I wonder what the political backstory is on Ft Worth.

Was that Sandra Bland he was talking about in the beginning?

 

[Medstudies]

Right to remain silent?

For. Sure, but interesting since he had not been arrested nor Mirandarized so it is telling that he has not cooperated

Besides, it would be departmental procedure to give a statement for any action taken while on duty. And for the police union to support him. I guess he saw how it went with Guyger...

 

[Medstudies]

He may as well have just yelled, "Bang, you're dead", because that's how fast it went down.

exactly this. And it is just so stupid, outrageous. and inexcusable

 

[Artis]

Because someone pointing a gun at a police officer is not a threat to the officer? She could see out the window that it was the police, and I have no doubt that she was pointing that gun at them. Just because second-guessers cannot see her in the window from the body camera, the officer could see her and her gun, he had his flashlight pointed at the window.

Tragic yes of course, but No criminal charges IMO

Whoa, hold up there. There has been no claim that she was pointing a gun at him. Further, if she had, she would have been fully with her right to do so. And, how do you know what she could see? She was HOME, in HER space, minding her own business and he was the intruder, prowling around in the dark.

 

[Medstudies]

dbm

 

[nrdsb4]

For. Sure, but interesting since he had not been arrested nor Mirandarized so it is telling that he has not cooperated

Besides, it would be departmental procedure to give a statement for any action taken while on duty. And for the police union to support him. I guess he saw how it went with Guyger...

Regardless of any company/employer policies, the right to remain silent is a cornerstone right. I'm guessing he knew immediately that he had totally crapped the bed on this one. He resigned. No requirement whatsoever of incriminating himself.

“He resigned before his opportunity to cooperate,” Kraus said.

 

[Hraefn]

Aaron Dean: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com

From link:

In a family press conference on Monday, October 14, Lee Merritt said that Zion remembers a lot of what happened and was with Jefferson when she was shot. “He never left the room,” Merritt said, adding that he wanted to be the one to look out the window but Tay didn’t let him. When she went to look out the window, she was shot and killed.

“He saw her when he fell,” Merritt said. He added that Zion learned coping mechanisms in school that he’s now encouraging his mother to use in her grief.

 

[nrdsb4]

I'm thinking that the other officer on site may have said to him "WTF did you do that for?????"

I believe he knew almost immediately that he had screwed up big time.

 

[nrdsb4]

He may as well have just yelled, "Bang, you're dead", because that's how fast it went down.

It certainly sounds that way. I'm betting the other cop was gobsmacked.

 

[Medstudies]

Regardless of any company/employer policies, the right to remain silent is a cornerstone right. I'm guessing he knew immediately that he had totally crapped the bed on this one. He resigned. No requirement whatsoever of incriminating himself.

Oh I’m not arguing about it, I just find it ridiculous. Fortunately there is video and eyewitness, so he really doesn’t need to say anything.

And just throwing this out here:
Police Officer's Oath

“The widely used oath embraced by the International Association of Chiefs of Police reads, "On my honor, I will never betray my badge, my integrity, my character or the public trust. I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions. I will always uphold the Constitution, my community, and the agency I serve."

well he failed. Miserably.

 

[Jeremy Bentham]

Does anyone know what happened in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Was the victim still alive, did the police perform first aid, did they manage to get her to a hospital?

I am at work so can't search around. Apologies if this has been posted already.

 

[nrdsb4]

Oh I’m not arguing about it, I just find it ridiculous. Fortunately there is video and eyewitness, so he really doesn’t need to say anything.

And just throwing this out here:
Police Officer's Oath

“The widely used oath embraced by the International Association of Chiefs of Police reads, "On my honor, I will never betray my badge, my integrity, my character or the public trust. I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions. I will always uphold the Constitution, my community, and the agency I serve."

well he failed. Miserably.

Certainly did.

 

[Medstudies]

Does anyone know what happened in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Was the victim still alive, did the police perform first aid, did they manage to get her to a hospital?

I am at work so can't search around. Apologies if this has been posted already.

https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/fort-worth/article236067328.html

“Officers entered the residence locating the individual and a firearm and began providing emergency medical care.”

I love how the comment on the gun was slid into the convo.