‘I did a fine job’: In testimony, Aaron Dean grades his policing the night he shot Atatiana Jefferson Read more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article269896122.html#storylink=cpy








I did a fine job’: In testimony, Aaron Dean grades his policing the night he shot Atatiana Jefferson BY AMY MCDANIEL UPDATED DECEMBER 12, 2022 12:50 PM Defendant Aaron Dean reacts on the stand while testifying on Monday, December 12, 2022, in Fort Worth. Dean, a former Fort Worth police officer, fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson in 2019 during an open structure call at her home. AMANDA MCCOY amccoy@star-telegram.com READ MORE Aaron Dean murder trial The case against Aaron Dean in the shooting of Atatiana Jefferson finally began to unfold Monday, Nov. 28 with jury selection. Opening statements started on Monday, Dec. 5. The trial is expected to take about two weeks. EXPAND ALL Defense attorneys in the murder trial of former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean began to present their case with testimony from Dean on Monday morning in Tarrant County’s 396th District Court. Dean has never previously spoken in public about the case, and his testimony as the first defense witness was a surprising move. Watch live video here: TOP VIDEOS Top Videos WATCH MORE 'Grab a handful of fur and hang on.' Kids compete in muttonbusting at North Texas rodeo × Dean was indicted on a murder charge in the death of Atatiana Jefferson, 28. Dean shot Jefferson through a window of her home about 2:30 a.m. in October 2019 while he and another officer were responding to a neighbor’s call about open doors at the house on East Allen Avenue. Dean testified that he and the other officer, Carol Darch, looked through the open front and side doors. He turned on his body camera while they were looking in the front door, he said. The glass storm doors were closed. Dean said that they saw things “strewn all over the floor” and open drawers and cabinets and thought the house looked “ransacked” but that they did not see signs of forced entry. Get unlimited digital access Try 1 month for $1 CLAIM OFFER The officers went to search the back yard, and Dean testified that in the window, he saw the silhouette of an adult person whose “upper arms were reaching for something or grasping something.” “I thought we had a burglar, so I stepped back, straightened up and drew my weapon and then pointed it towards the figure,” Dean said. “I couldn’t see that person’s hands.” Dean said he drew his gun and shouted, “Put your hands up! Show me your hands!” He did not identify himself as a police officer. TX Politics newsletter Get government and election news that affects our region, plus a weekly take exclusive to the newsletter. SIGN UP This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “I needed to see that person’s hands because the hands carry weapons, the hands are the threat to us,” Dean testified. “As I started to get that second phrase out, ‘Show me your hands,’ i saw the silhouette ... I was looking right down the barrel of a gun,” Dean said. “When I saw the barrel of that gun pointed at me, I fired a single shot from my duty weapon.” As his gun recoiled, the light mounted on it shone back in his face, Dean said. “When my vision cleared, I saw the person we know now was Miss Jefferson,” Dean testified, sniffling and with his voice breaking slightly. “I heard her scream and saw her fall ... And I knew I had shot that person.” Dean said that his body-camera video didn’t show everything he could see with his eyes. Dean said that after the shooting, he tried to open the window to get inside but couldn’t so he and Darch ran to the front of the house, entered and quickly scanned the house for threats on their way to the back bedroom, where Jefferson lay face down on the floor. Dean said he did not immediately provide first aid to Jefferson because he had lost his medical kit a few days earlier. He said he picked up Jefferson’s gun from the floor between her feet because he had been trained that the first thing he should do after a shooting is move the weapon away from any person. Dean admitted he did not attempt CPR. He said he rolled Jefferson over and pressed an afghan to her chest to try to stop the bleeding but did not do so right away when he entered the room. The prosecution cross-examined Dean for over an hour before the lunch break and reviewed the body-camera video with him. Assistant District Attorney Dale Smith hammered Dean on what he did wrong in his response to the call and repeatedly got Dean to acknowledge examples of “bad police work.”


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