Atatiana Jefferson was shot and killed in her home in 2019 by a former Fort Worth, Texas, the officer who is currently on trial for murder. Dean’s police partner claimed in court on Tuesday that he never claimed to have seen someone with a gun that night.
Dean, a white man, shot and killed Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman who was playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew, while they were responding to a call at her home with Officer Carol Darch.
Darch stated under cross-examination from the prosecution that Dean never used the term “gun” or that he saw someone with a gun before he shot her or after they entered the house and searched it.
As they reached the home and headed into Jefferson’s backyard, according to Darch, Dean took the initiative. She claimed that the two of them did not make themselves known because they believed they could be at the scene of a break-in.
After a worried neighbour discovered a door was left open and dialled the non-emergency police line, Dean and Darch proceeded to the house. According to court records, Jefferson stayed up late that night playing video games and watching over Zion Carr, her 8-year-old nephew. Dean fired his firearm and struck Jefferson without identifying himself, according to police and body camera evidence.
On Monday, Dean entered a not-guilty plea to the murder accusation.
Zion, now 11 years old, claimed in court on Monday that the screen doors were open after his aunt and he accidentally burned the hamburgers they were going to have for dinner. The two kept playing video games well into the night.
Zion claimed that his aunt heard noises outside and pulled out her gun, keeping it by her side. They were both unaware that police had been called to the house.
Turning around, Darch claimed she did not notice Jefferson’s gun and could only make out Jefferson’s face and “eyes as big as saucers.” in the window.
Darch claimed that she noticed Zion weeping when they entered the room where Jefferson had been shot, so she wrapped him in a blanket and carried him outside.
“I heard the baby and that became my sole focus,” she said.
Darch begged the judge to stop her evidence as she broke down in tears when discussing her concern for the boy’s welfare.
According to Dean’s attorneys, Dean responded appropriately to what he thought might be a burglary in the process.
In his testimony on Tuesday, James Smith, the neighbour who had phoned the police that evening, claimed that his family had called him at around two in the morning to express worry for his neighbours after they had spotted Jefferson’s front door and a side door open.
Smith claimed that he dialled the nonemergency line rather than 911 because he was uncertain about the situation.
“It did not appear to be an emergency,” he said.
Smith stated that learning that Jefferson had been shot by the police was “devastating” and that he deals with the fallout from his phone call and Jefferson’s passing “every day, every day.” He claimed that he holds himself “somewhat” accountable.
Smith responded that while there were issues in certain parts of the neighbourhood, the one where he resides was safe when Dean’s counsel inquired about crime.
Regarding the amount of crime in the area, he added, “It could be less. It should be less than what it is,”
Jefferson’s passing is reminiscent of the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was killed by police in her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment in 2020. Both shootings drew harsh criticism and sparked demands for racial justice and police accountability.
Prosecutors said during their opening remarks on Monday that Jefferson’s death was “an unjustifiable act that never should’ve happened.”
During the opening statements, Dean’s lawyer, Miles Brissette, said that Dean saw a gun being raised, gave the order, and shot.
Dean, who left the Fort Worth Police Department before to his arrest, was charged with murder in December 2019 by a Texas grand jury.
Jefferson earned a chemistry degree from Xavier University. After college, she went back home to assist with family medical needs and had plans to enrol in medical school.
