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

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SandyQLS said:
"... The boy said she had the handgun raised and pointed toward the window. This is when Jefferson was shot. ..."

Exactly. She pointed a loaded gun at a police officer who was in response to an open structure call, not a welfare check, at 2:30AM on a weekend night in the highest crime area of Fort Worth. Period.

In the body camera footage there is another officer's back captured on film moments before the shot was fired. The officer fired in defense of self and the other officer.

It's tragic, but this is not a crime. The charge of murder is political. Imo this interim chief can count the hours until he is forced into retirement. He was wrong to say the still frame of the gun shouldn't have been released. He was wrong to rush to judgment and he does not have his officers backs, now they don't have his.[/B]
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1. Would you consider it tragic but not a crime if Ms. Johnson, blinded by a flashlight being beamed at her from outside, in the middle of the night, by an unidentified intruder in her back yard, had shot & killed Dean to protect herself and her scared 8 year old nephew?

2. There isn't anything political about a chief insisting upon accountability after seeing with his own eyes a video of one of his cops violating multiple LE procedures & unjustifiably using lethal force.

"Having his officers' back" is exactly what he was doing. Quick on the draw & disregard for the law cops endanger the lives of their fellow officers as well as civilians.
 
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oceanblueeyes said:
Thank you for the link.

Very wise words coming from the Chief.

Will those words of wisdom be heeded?

Imo, based on other cases, I highly doubt it will be.

Instead not only all in his department, but all LEOs everywhere will be identified, not as individuals like all humans are, but collectively in one identity box as all the same, which is guilty of course according to so many now.

Just like I see some assume that new police officers are substandard somehow ...even though all who have long served while being way underpaid. Never mind they all have had the same high standards including even more training now ..along with psychological testing.

Imo, 99+ percent who have served, and continued to do so.. in order to give back, and protect their own communities where their own families live. It's become rather commonplace now even in smaller towns/counties for officers to have college degrees.

LEOs wanting to protect, and serve now under the most toxic atmosphere against them... does so for the right reasons.. even though they know they can, and DO become kill targets by those filled with blind dangerous hatred.

It shows this one bad cop or any of the others, does NOT even begin to define most all of them.. who selflessly put their own lives on the line every single day.... even though they know they are constantly vilified, and hated by some in the very communities they have sworn to serve, and protect.

This ONE shouldn't have ever become a police officer, but tragically in all professions there are always a few bad apples. Look at all the workplace violence of offenders who are murdering victims in mass even recently?

This one cop, and those who have been ruled unjustifiable in killing any victim... like lovely Atatiana.. should pay the same price as any other murderer, no matter the profession or even if they didnt have a legitimate or a legal job at the time.

However, what shouldn't ever happen in our nation is for the 1.2 million brothers, and sisters in blue to carry the same guilt for what a few other individuals have done.

That would be as unfair, and as illogical as finding everyone else guilty based solely on what other individuals have done.

Jmhoo
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The uproar comes when the "bad apple" gets a pass and the victim is treated like collateral damage or less. That is what has to stop.
 
CrimeDawg123 said:
What? She had a gun pointed at a prowler outside her home, as was her right to do. As the officer perceived her as a threat, she perceived him as a threat. She has the right to defend herself. The officer never even bothered to identify himself as such. Case closed. Not a crime? We'll see how much time this officer serves whether it's a crime or not, I guess.
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...and she didn't pop a bullet in him. My guess would be she was assessing the situation.
 
SandyQLS said:
The officer had a right and a duty to defend himself, the other officer and the public. It's very tragic.
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So in your mind, the officer's "right and duty" (regardless of his reckless behavior) supersedes the right of this innocent woman to live. Please, please tell me you are not in LE. The officer lost that right when he failed to follow police procedure. End of.
 
  • The video indicated that he could not have seen the gun in her hand before firing
  • Fort Worth police released an arrest warrant for Aaron Dean, 34, on Tuesday
  • The officer was charged with the murder of 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson
  • Dean was dispatched to Jefferson's home at around 2.30am Saturday after a neighbor reported that her front door was open
  • Jefferson was playing video games with her eight-year-old nephew when they heard a noise outside and she got up to investigate, assuming it was a prowler
  • The warrant quoted the nephew as saying his aunt had picked up a handgun and was pointing it out the window when she was shot by Dean
  • Bodycam footage showed Dean - who did not identify himself as police - shining a flashlight into the home as Jefferson approached the bedroom window
  • He shouted at her to show her hands and fired the fatal shot a split-second later
  • At a press conference shortly before the warrant was made public, Police Chief Ed Kraus stated that there was 'absolutely no excuse' for the officer's actions
  • He said Jefferson behaved as any Texas homeowner would have if they thought someone was stalking around their home
  • Kraus fought back tears as he expressed deep regret over the shooting
  • He insisted that it was 'not indicative of the work [officers] do every day'
  • Dean resigned Monday before his arrest and was released on $200,000 bond
  • Jefferson's family said they were 'relieved' by Dean's arrest, but insisted that 'the city of Fort Worth has much work to do to reform a brutal culture of policing'
  • Jefferson's death sparked outrage in the community that has seen seven police-on-civilian shootings since June
  • Atatiana Jefferson grabbed her gun because she feared white cop who shot her dead was trespasser | Daily Mail Online
 
SandyQLS said:
"... The boy said she had the handgun raised and pointed toward the window. This is when Jefferson was shot. ..."

Exactly. She pointed a loaded gun at a police officer who was in response to an open structure call, not a welfare check, at 2:30AM on a weekend night in the highest crime area of Fort Worth. Period.

In the body camera footage there is another officer's back captured on film moments before the shot was fired. The officer fired in defense of self and the other officer.

It's tragic, but this is not a crime. The charge of murder is political. Imo this interim chief can count the hours until he is forced into retirement. He was wrong to say the still frame of the gun shouldn't have been released. He was wrong to rush to judgment and he does not have his officers backs, now they don't have his.
Click to expand...
When did the USA become a fascist state?

She would be alive if he had followed procedures. That right there warrants charges. She had reason to be afraid. She had the right to shoot him
 
oceanblueeyes said:
Thank you for the link.

Very wise words coming from the Chief.

Will those words of wisdom be heeded?

Imo, based on other cases, I highly doubt it will be.

Instead not only all in his department, but all LEOs everywhere will be identified, not as individuals like all humans are, but collectively in one identity box as all the same, which is guilty of course according to so many now.

Just like I see some assume that new police officers are substandard somehow ...even though all who have long served while being way underpaid. Never mind they all have had the same high standards including even more training now ..along with psychological testing.

Imo, 99+ percent who have served, and continued to do so.. in order to give back, and protect their own communities where their own families live. It's become rather commonplace now even in smaller towns/counties for officers to have college degrees.

LEOs wanting to protect, and serve now under the most toxic atmosphere against them... does so for the right reasons.. even though they know they can, and DO become kill targets by those filled with blind dangerous hatred.

It shows this one bad cop or any of the others, does NOT even begin to define most all of them.. who selflessly put their own lives on the line every single day.... even though they know they are constantly vilified, and hated by some in the very communities they have sworn to serve, and protect.

This ONE shouldn't have ever become a police officer, but tragically in all professions there are always a few bad apples. Look at all the workplace violence of offenders who are murdering victims in mass even recently?

This one cop, and those who have been ruled unjustifiable in killing any victim... like lovely Atatiana.. should pay the same price as any other murderer, no matter the profession or even if they didnt have a legitimate or a legal job at the time.

However, what shouldn't ever happen in our nation is for the 1.2 million brothers, and sisters in blue to carry the same guilt for what a few other individuals have done.

That would be as unfair, and as illogical as finding everyone else guilty based solely on what other individuals have done.

Jmhoo
Click to expand...

This is all true. However, our statistic of killings by police is bad as compared with other Western countries.

List of killings by law enforcement officers by country - Wikipedia

So maybe we should look at other countries with acceptable statistics, and see what can be changed? Do they pay better to their policemen? Do they give them more days off? What else (except for gun ownership) is different in countries with better statistics? What can we improve?
 
"The information came from the neighbor to the call takers and then while it was relayed to the dispatch it was determined to be an open structure call," Kraus said in response to a question from ABC News. "I can't tell you specifically if it was the dispatcher, but that's something we're looking into."

"She took her handgun from her purse," the affidavit reads. "(The nephew) said Jefferson raised her handgun, pointed toward the window, then Jefferson was shot and fell to the ground."

"Perceiving a threat, the officer drew his duty weapon and fired one shot striking the person inside the residence," a statement from the police department reads.

Dean's partner, identified in the warrant as L. Darch, told investigators she never saw Jefferson raise the gun before Dean opened fire.

"Officer Darch said that they went into the backyard and Officer Dean was standing between her and the house and she could only see Jefferson's face through the window when Officer Dean discharged his weapon one time," the arrest warrant affidavit reads.
Nephew tells investigators aunt shot by cop in her home had gun in her hand: Warrant
 
According to a police news release, Dean noticed a person inside and standing near the window while he was checking the perimeter, which police say was perceived as a threat.

Authorities say that when they entered Jefferson's home, a gun was recovered from the bedroom, but did not say whether Jefferson was holding a weapon at the time the officer shot at her.

Kyev Tatum, a pastor and community activist who was on the scene shortly after the shooting, said that even if Jefferson was holding a weapon, it should not have justified the use of deadly force.

"If you hear some noise in your backyard early in the morning when you're with your 8-year-old nephew, well of course anyone in their right mind is going to try to protect themselves and others, especially a child," Tatum said
Fort Worth Interim Police Chief 'Deeply Sorry' For Fatal Shooting
 
Medstudies said:
When did the USA become a fascist state?

She would be alive if he had followed procedures. That right there warrants charges. She had reason to be afraid. She had the right to shoot him
Click to expand...

Do you really want me to answer that?

I felt that when Amber Guyger stormed into a private citizen's home, and shot him, it would be a no brainer on the murder conviction. Fortunately, she was convicted.

When Mr. French and his parents were shot, by an off duty police officer, at Costco, that the officer would be charged. Didn't happen.

This time, another citizen was killed by an officer. Officer charged.

The problem is that this does happen, and it seems like the only cases that get any attention are the ones that Mr. Lee Merritt decides to bring forward.
 
A Fort Worth police officer who was instrumental in spreading information on Facebook about a kidnapping in May has taken to social media again to talk about a recent shooting that has thrust Fort Worth into national news.
JC Williams said he wanted people to read a few things from a cop’s perspective about the shooting of Atatiana Jefferson on Saturday in hopes of bringing about unity.

“There are a few things from a cop’s perspective that I wanted to post in hopes that people on both ‘sides’ will hopefully benefit from and/or be encouraged by,” Williams wrote. “1. There are NOT two sides to this story and this is not an ‘us vs. them’ situation. Atatiana was unjustly killed and is a victim. She, her nephew, the neighbor. These are the ones that any true cop feels for and wants to protect.”

Williams said he and his colleagues within the department need to say “we’re sorry.”

“I did not fire the shot, but a guy on ‘my team’ did,” he wrote. “And I have to own that. It’s horrible. I hate it. But I have to own it. We have to own it. So, If people hate or are mad at cops right now. That’s fine. If people are scared and frustrated. Good. They should be. Our team screwed up. Saying things like ‘There’s always one bad apple’ doesn’t help right now. Say ‘I’m sorry’ and because of this I will be better and take responsibility to make others better.”

‘We can’t tolerate it’: Fort Worth officer writes emotional post about unjust killing
 
SandyQLS said:
"... The boy said she had the handgun raised and pointed toward the window. This is when Jefferson was shot. ..."

Exactly. She pointed a loaded gun at a police officer who was in response to an open structure call, not a welfare check, at 2:30AM on a weekend night in the highest crime area of Fort Worth. Period.

In the body camera footage there is another officer's back captured on film moments before the shot was fired. The officer fired in defense of self and the other officer.

It's tragic, but this is not a crime. The charge of murder is political. Imo this interim chief can count the hours until he is forced into retirement. He was wrong to say the still frame of the gun shouldn't have been released. He was wrong to rush to judgment and he does not have his officers backs, now they don't have his.
Click to expand...
Wow. That’s all I can say that’s within our tos.
 
Jim Lane, a Fort Worth attorney who is representing Dean, declined to comment on the case.

Jefferson heard noises and pulled a gun from her purse
The 28-year-old woman was playing video games with her nephew in the back bedroom of the home when they heard noises coming from outside, the document says.

She then pulled her handgun from her purse, her nephew told police, and raised it. She was pointing it toward the window when she was shot and fell to the ground.

It’s unclear how much time passed before Jefferson was shot or whether the nephew heard the officer’s voice.

Body camera video shows Dean approaching the window and firing a single shot but it doesn’t show Darch within eyesight of her colleague.

CNN is attempting to reach Darch for comment.
Former Fort Worth officer who shot Atatiana Jefferson refuses to speak with detectives about what happened
 
mickey2942 said:
Do you really want me to answer that?

I felt that when Amber Guyger stormed into a private citizen's home, and shot him, it would be a no brainer on the murder conviction. Fortunately, she was convicted.

When Mr. French and his parents were shot, by an off duty police officer, at Costco, that the officer would be charged. Didn't happen.

This time, another citizen was killed by an officer. Officer charged.

The problem is that this does happen, and it seems like the only cases that get any attention are the ones that Mr. Lee Merritt decides to bring forward.
Click to expand...


the squeaking wheel gets the oil
 
sds71 said:
A Fort Worth police officer who was instrumental in spreading information on Facebook about a kidnapping in May has taken to social media again to talk about a recent shooting that has thrust Fort Worth into national news.
JC Williams said he wanted people to read a few things from a cop’s perspective about the shooting of Atatiana Jefferson on Saturday in hopes of bringing about unity.

“There are a few things from a cop’s perspective that I wanted to post in hopes that people on both ‘sides’ will hopefully benefit from and/or be encouraged by,” Williams wrote. “1. There are NOT two sides to this story and this is not an ‘us vs. them’ situation. Atatiana was unjustly killed and is a victim. She, her nephew, the neighbor. These are the ones that any true cop feels for and wants to protect.”

Williams said he and his colleagues within the department need to say “we’re sorry.”

“I did not fire the shot, but a guy on ‘my team’ did,” he wrote. “And I have to own that. It’s horrible. I hate it. But I have to own it. We have to own it. So, If people hate or are mad at cops right now. That’s fine. If people are scared and frustrated. Good. They should be. Our team screwed up. Saying things like ‘There’s always one bad apple’ doesn’t help right now. Say ‘I’m sorry’ and because of this I will be better and take responsibility to make others better.”

‘We can’t tolerate it’: Fort Worth officer writes emotional post about unjust killing
Click to expand...

I read his post. It was a decent and proper message for him to spread. I hope he and the other fine officers help the department move in the right direction.
 
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