The Fort Worth, Texas cop who shot Atatiana Jefferson in her own home has resigned from the police force. Interim Police Chief Ed Kraus identified the cop as Officer Aaron Dean at a press conference on Monday afternoon.
Kraus announced Dean’s resignation, saying he intended to fire the rookie cop for violating use-of-force policy and “unprofessional conduct.”
“Had the officer not resigned, I would have fired him for violations for several policies, including our use of force policy, our de-escalation policy and unprofessional conduct,” Kraus said.
Civic leaders praised the Fort Worth Police Department for its quick action and transparency in the wrongful death case.
Dean, who joined the department in April 2018, still faces criminal charges as well as possible civil rights violations, Kraus said, according to NBC News.
Jefferson, 28, was gunned down by Dean as she peered out her bedroom window after hearing what she thought was a prowler in her yard early Saturday.
Dean shot Jefferson through her bedroom window because he “perceived a threat.” Police did not clarify the threat.
Body cam video footage showed Dean and another officer circling Jefferson’s home after responding to a non-emergency welfare check call.
Jefferson’s 8-year-old nephew was in Jefferson’s bedroom playing a video game when they thought they heard a prowler in the backyard, said the family’s attorney S. Lee Merritt.
“They looked at each other and listened more intently when they heard it again,” Merritt said in a social media post. “Someone was outside.”
Merritt said the nephew described how his aunt went to the window to see who was there.
“Suddenly a man’s voice was screaming something he couldn’t make out, and then ‘bang,'” Merritt said. Jefferson fell to the floor. Merritt said he didn’t ask the child what he saw next because he didn’t want him “to have to relive that” moment.
Legal experts say the rookie cop didn’t give Jefferson enough time to react to his orders before he shot her through the bedroom window.
Twitter activist Shaun King accused Fort Worth police of giving the killer cop special treatment.
“We’ve been told that the @FortWorthPD has been deliberately hiding the name of the officer who murdered #AtatianaJefferson so that he can wipe all of his social media clean,” King tweeted on Sunday. “Not one single justifiable reason exists for hiding his identity.”
We’ve been told that the @FortWorthPD has been deliberately hiding the name of the officer who murdered #AtatianaJefferson so that he can wipe all of his social media clean.
Not one single justifiable reason exists for hiding his identity.
— Shaun King (@shaunking) October 14, 2019
