U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- On 12 October 2019, Officer Aaron Dean shot and killed Atatiana Koquice Jefferson in her home, at about 2:33 a.m., by firing through a window, into a dark room at the back of the house.
A neighbor had called the police because he noticed the doors of the house were open in the early morning hours. He believed he was calling for a welfare check. The police response was not what would commonly be reasonable for a welfare check. The call to the officers from dispatch was for an “open door” or “open structure”, which is more commonly considered a potential burglary call.
The actions of the police indicate they treated the situation as if it were a potential burglary.
There is body camera video of the event, from a body camera former Officer Aaron Dean was wearing.
Officer Aaron Dean did not announce he was a police officer. He would not announce if he were hoping to catch a burglar. He should have announced once he saw Atatiana. It is unknown if it would have made a difference at that point.
Atatiana had been armed with her legally owned handgun. We do not know if she had the handgun in her hand when she was shot. She prudently kept her eight-year-old charge away from the window, when she was investigating the noise she is reported to have heard.
The presence or absence of Atatiana’s handgun has been deemed irrelevant by Fort Worth’s Mayor and by a former judge. From wfaa.com:
As for what the former Fort Worth officer’s defense might be for shooting into Atatiana Jefferson’s house though a backyard window, attorney and former judge Rob Cañas agrees with the statement of Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price.
“The gun is irrelevant,” she said Monday of the weapon found inside Atatiana Jefferson’s home. “She was in her own home. Atatiana was a victim.”
“She was completely in a legal position, in the right position to be,” Cañas said.
The facts of the case available to the public have been published in numerous sources on the Internet. About four seconds elapsed from the time Aaron Dean saw a person on the other side of the window until he fired the fatal shot.
On 20 December, former officer Dean was indicted by a Fort Worth grand jury on a murder charge.
Dean was a young officer, 34 years old, with limited experience. He had been on the job for a year and a half. He resigned shortly after the shooting.
Atatiana’s death was, and is, tragic for all concerned. It is difficult to see any justification for her shooting.
Many have labeled this shooting as racist. It is hard to see it as racist when it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, for the officer to know whether the person on the other side of the window was black, white, Hispanic, Asian or any other description. The room was dark. The shooting happened very quickly. Atatiana’s skin color was not very dark.
This shooting is not like the Houston killing of the Tuttles during a no-knock raid. It was not planned with false information. It appears to be much closer to the tragedy that happened on July 15, 2017. On that date, Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor shot and killed Justine Ruszczyk, while responding to a potential sexual assault call. Noor was sentenced to 12 and 1/2 years in prison after being convicted of third-degree murder.
Both officers fired on and killed young women in circumstances which did not appear justified. It appears Mohamed Noor could see Justine Ruszczyk in Minneapolis more clearly than Aaron Dean could see Atatiana Jefferson in Fort Worth.
Former officer Aaron Dean has not offered a defense. Former officer Mohamed Noor claimed he was justified because Justine Ruszcyk moved her hand, where he could not see it.
My suspicion is former officer Aaron Dean did not fire the shot intentionally. It is merely a suspicion, of course. He only fired once. He has not given a defense, as far as I know. He has not claimed the shooting was justified. There have been numerous other situations where officers fired without intending to do so. This article explains some of the mechanisms where firing under stress occurs unintentionally. It is more common than most people think. If the shot was unintentional, it does not relieve Aaron Dean of responsibility, even criminal responsibility, for a crime such as negligent homicide.
It appeared that former officer Aaron Dean was primed to find a burglar, perhaps armed and dangerous. He may have rehearsed scenarios in his mind, where he confronted a burglar. He acted as if he were confronting a suspect when he saw Atatiana in a darkened room at about 2:30 in the morning.
Unintentional police shootings are rare, but far more common than any would like them to be. Police officers are people. People make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes are deadly. No one and no group of people is perfect.
This situation is a terrible tragedy for all concerned.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
Remember, Will, it is an opinion piece, nothing more.
the blame lies solely on officer dean. he was negligent in informing persons in the house that he was a officer. if he had spoken several words, this would not have happened. having all the lights on in the front of the house, both doors open with no signs of forced entry and two cars in the driveway should have given him a clue. why did he not enter through the front or side door? seems like he was a bit trigger happy. sad that an innocent woman was killed for no reason, her son had to see his mom… Read more »
I am not at all sure that unintentional shootings by police are as rare as the reports and statistics show. Unlike civilians, police officers involved in shootings are not normally questioned about the circumstances immediately and the focus of the entire department is always to close ranks to defend any shooting as justified. All officers are more heavily trained in report writing and giving testimony than in any other subject. The officer involved, the supervisors, and the investigators all have a vested interest in ensuring that the officer’s official statement (given only after advice of counsel) presents the shooting in… Read more »
Me 67 and have known a lot of Cops over the years. In the recent past they have been teaching them to shoot quick and lots of rounds, then ask questions later. They are finally going back to what always worked in the past, and yes an Officer puts their life on the line by not shooting to quick. If they cannot handle the heat don’t take the job. The Command is just a much in the wrong as the officer like it or not. At 34 with 1.5 years experience he should know right form wrong. They say maybe… Read more »
This is a tough one Dean. What ever happened to the neighbor being good enough to either call or get off his butt and go see what was going on at the neighbor’s house? While the neighbor has no legal recourse to be forced to be a good neighbor, he will certainly have to carry part of the burden for this lady’s death and the raising of a child. This event reads like both the cop and the homeowner were checking for trouble at the same time. I can understand the homeowner getting armed to check out a noise. I… Read more »
Dean should sell that Blue Wall to Trump for a border wall. It sounds like it’s tall enough do the job. Cops protecting cops.
Unintentional only means he did not take steps to prevent an accidental shooting.
HE INTENDED to try to catch somebody. HE DID NOT INTEND to check on the welfare of the occupants. That should have been his first priority. His mind was occupied with ‘Where is the burglar?’ not, “Are the occupants OK?’
Gun owners and gun handlers have a duty to intentionally not fire unintentionally.
“I just want to get home to my family.” This is the battle cry of every cop who shoots. Atatiana Jefferson WAS home. WITH her family. NO ONE IS SAFE IN THEIR HOME. Decent cops respect all…. even people who are criminals. If you can’t handle that, put your d^mn gun away, If you want to get home to your family, become an accountant. I am a veteran and 2A supporter. I support the thin blue line. But I am a homeowner, a night-shift hospital worker and a human being, too. The greatest danger in my life is pissing my… Read more »
If there is fault to be laid, it would most likely be training, training, training. The officer’s work history does not indicate any military service or training. Taking all into account, mistakes started from the very second the call came in. More, information makes for better decision making.
That’s what happens when the LE these days are trained with the motto shoot them all and let God sort it out. There are WAY too many unnecessary shootings by LE today. When I was trained as LE we were trained to use deadly force ONLY if someone had a firearm IN THEIR HAND and if we were already in the position to take them down we could. I see where some guy pulling up his pants in a hall way of a motel is gunned down by the trigger happy cop. Who had “no fucks given” on the ejection… Read more »
With that insane Defense Department’s Defense Logistics Agency Program passed by Congress in 1997 where Police Departments get surplus military vehicles, weapons, munitions, equipment, etc to use on us civilians; it’s good Officer Dean did not have a surplus Army Tank.