Another "WTF Texas?" shooting by the cops

[makattak]

I USED to be the one that gave the benefit of the doubt to the police.

These types of stories have emptied me of that good will.

I now have to work really hard to remember that these are probably not representative of the majority of police officers.

[T.O.M.]

Just got an update on my phone.  Interim Chief says he would have fired the officer, but he resigned first.  Second part, he says that the officer may be charged criminally.  Says he expects an update by tomorrow.

Guess we will see...

[MechAg94]

https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/fort-worth-officer-who-shot-and-killed-atatiana-jefferson-in-her-home-has-resigned/
Fort Worth Officer Who Shot and Killed Atatiana Jefferson in Her Home Has Resigned

IMO, it sounds like he knows he screwed up.  We will see where this goes.

[AZRedhawk44]

I'm struggling to comprehend how a profeshunal can have a lesser sentence for a negligent discharge that kills a person than a deliberate decision that kills a person.

And in regards to liability, I'd see that self-admission of negligence as a means to strip the person of any qualified immunity or umbrella protection of a union's representation.

Then again, I've always struggled with the morality and logic of DUI laws.  Deliberately kill a person with a weapon and for a defined reason, and it's Murder 1.  But get drunk and kill someone while driving impaired, it's only manslaughter and pretty light sentence considering.  Anywhere from 2-10 years, IIRC, and someone above mentioned a $10,000 fine.  And get drunk and kill no one and drive all the way home only to get pulled over right before your driveway, you're looking at a $6000 fine here in AZ and like 6 months of jail time.

[WLJ]

    The Fort Worth police chief says a white officer accused in the fatal shooting of a black woman in her home has resigned.

    Interim Chief Ed Kraus said Monday that if the officer, Aaron Dean, had not resigned, he would have been fired.

    Dean shot 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson through her window in the early hours of Saturday morning. Officers were called to her home when a concerned neighbor worried for her safety noticed her door was open.

    Police have said the officer perceived a threat when he saw someone near the window and opened fire.

    Earlier Monday, family lawyer Lee Merritt called for the officer to be fired and charged in Jefferson’s killing.

Fort Worth Officer Who Shot and Killed Atatiana Jefferson in Her Home Has Resigned
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/fort-worth-officer-who-shot-and-killed-atatiana-jefferson-in-her-home-has-resigned/

[Fly320s]

Except the Agency's release say that the Officer fired "when he perceived a threat".  If he's on record as saying that, then he meant to pull the trigger.  One doesn't point a firearm at a threat and hope for an ND.

I interpret the spokesperson's statement as a quote/paraphrase of the officer's initial statement, not as a statement of fact regarding what happened.

Also, no officer will ever admit he had a ND that killed someone.   Basically, the officer had an oops, but said there was a threat.  The police department spokesperson repeated that.  Now that we have more information, we see that the officer and the department are updating the statements.

[zxcvbob]

Except the Agency's release say that the Officer fired "when he perceived a threat".  If he's on record as saying that, then he meant to pull the trigger.  One doesn't point a firearm at a threat and hope for an ND.

I think they are lying because they think it helps his case.  (it's just a little lie...)  FWPD needs to recuse themselves and turn the investigation over to the Texas Rangers.

[T.O.M.]

Per my phone. the ex-officer has been arrested and booked on a murder charge. (8:24 p.m. on 10/14).

[RoadKingLarry]

Per my phone. the ex-officer has been arrested and booked on a murder charge. (8:24 p.m. on 10/14).

The real question that will never be answered is: Did they charge and arrest him because it was the proper thing to do or because they are afraid of the riots protests if they didn't?

[WLJ]

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – The Fort Worth Police officer who shot and killed a woman in her home early Saturday morning has been booked into the Tarrant County Jail and charged with murder.

Bond has not been set.

Former Fort Worth Police Officer Aaron Dean Charged With Murder
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/former-fort-worth-police-officer-aaron-dean-charged-with-murder/ar-AAIMcSq

[Battle Monkey of Zardoz]

Forth Worth Police Department Chief Ed Kraus said Dean would have been terminated if he had not resigned, and is considered dishonorably discharged. Kraus also told reporters the U.S. Justice Department will examine the case for possible civil rights violations. Dean is white, and Jefferson was black.

What is this dishonorably discharged *expletive deleted*it?  You ain’t military.

[MechAg94]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/10/15/fort-worth-woman-killed-by-officer-heard-noises-outside-drew-gun-nephew-told-authorities/

The nephew of the 28-year-old black woman fatally shot in her home by a white Fort Worth police officer over the weekend said his aunt drew a gun after hearing noises outside her house, according to an arrest warrant affidavit for the officer released Tuesday.

The details in the affidavit add weight to earlier accounts of the shooting from family members and city officials who said Atatiana Jefferson was trying to protect herself and the 8-year-old boy from what she thought was an intruder when she was killed early Saturday. The officer who shot Jefferson, Aaron Dean, resigned and was charged with murder on Monday.

According to the affidavit, Jefferson’s nephew told a forensic interviewer that he and his aunt were playing video games in a back bedroom when Jefferson “heard noises coming from outside” and “took her handgun from her purse.”
The boy told the interviewer that Jefferson “raised her handgun, pointed it toward the window” and “was shot and fell to the ground,” according to the affidavit. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

[MechAg94]

From the same article.  I agree. 

On Monday, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price told people to disregard the weapon. “The gun is irrelevant,” Price said in a news conference. Jefferson “was in her own home caring for an 8-year-old nephew.”

-----------
Watching the body cam video again, I guess it didn't occur to me the first time how quickly the shooting happened after the officer went through the back gate.  Almost as soon as he went through the back gate, he shined his flashlight in the window and saw the woman.  And his first instinct was not to back off, but to draw his gun and start issuing commands (through the window?).  I also assumed the second officer was with him, but maybe not.  I am not sure where the second officer was at the time of the shooting. 

[Fly320s]

Well, that could change things.  I'm not sure how reliable an 8 year old witness is, though.

[MechAg94]

Well, that could change things.  I'm not sure how reliable an 8 year old witness is, though.

I am sure it will be used by the defense.  Can the officer say he had a right to be in her backyard looking around?  Especially when he is not readily identifiable as a police officer? 

Actually, I kind of hope they bring that up.  It would be interesting to see how the courts deal with it.  Does a "welfare check" give the officer the right to trespass without identifying themselves?  Or to use lethal force when they perceive a threat while doing so?

[Hawkmoon]

I don't see that it changes things at all. As the mayor said, she was in her own home and she had every right to be armed. Skulking around the back yard of a private residence never used to be S.O.P. for conducting a welfare check, unless the officer(s) had already knocked on the front door and got no response. In any event, the bodycam video tells the tale. He did NOT identify himself as a police officer (although who in their right mind would automatically believe an unidentified voice at 02:30 in the morning anyway?), and there was no time for her to react between his verbal command and his shot.

[230RN]

Fly320s:

Well, that could change things.  I'm not sure how reliable an 8 year old witness is, though.

Reasonable doubt.  But I fully expect the other relatives will press the kid to change the story to emphasize the officer's culpability.

"Are you sure you saw her raise the gun?  Absolutely positive?  You could be set for life and never have to work, ever, if she didn't.  Now (use nephew's name), it couldn't be what you saw was her just going to scratch her nose, right?"

Pressure along those lines, "mind doctoring" a kid...

But as a former 8-year-old, I think the kid would tell the truth "right off the bat" if he weren't guilty about something himself.

I think that's what Terry would have done, back in 1947AD.

Terry

[Pb]

If the victim pointed a gun at the cop (not knowing he was a cop, one would assume) that changes a lot.

[makattak]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/10/15/fort-worth-woman-killed-by-officer-heard-noises-outside-drew-gun-nephew-told-authorities/

Doesn't change my thoughts at all. She was in her home and responding rationally to a perceived threat.

The police officer was in the wrong COMPLETELY in this instance and deserves to be in jail for a very long time. (Since we won't give murder the proper punishment.)

[MechAg94]

If the victim pointed a gun at the cop (not knowing he was a cop, one would assume) that changes a lot.

In this case, I don't think it does, but I figure some would and it will be interesting to see how this is dealt with in court.

[Hawkmoon]

If the victim pointed a gun at the cop (not knowing he was a cop, one would assume) that changes a lot.

How? Why?

The cop was where he had no right to be. The woman was where she had every right to be.

[Boomhauer]

I’ve done welfare checks you don’t skulk around the backyard like a prowler

[MechAg94]

IMO, saying the the woman having a gun changes things ALMOST gets to the point that burglars could claim self defense when they break in or are trespassing.  As stated by others, the officer didn't have any reason to go around to the back yard.  The legal question of whether he had a right to be back there is something that would be interesting for the court to deal with.  This wasn't a search warrant or a hot pursuit.  It was a welfare check.    


That doesn't even get to the odd tactic of shouting commands to someone on the other side of a closed window instead of just moving to the side or heading back to the front door.  If those windows were double pane glass, she might not even be able to hear him.  

[cordex]

Her pointing a gun at the cop may explain why he shot (assuming it was even intentional), but it in no way justifies it.

If he had clearly identified himself as a police officer first maybe, but skulking around the back yard then yelling and shooting at the same time doesn’t a good shoot make in my book.

[Fly320s]

I’ve done welfare checks you don’t skulk around the backyard like a prowler

I'm guessing it depends on department SOPs.  Are cops authorized to enter a backyard during a non-criminal investigation?