FORT WORTH, Texas — Atatiana Jefferson’s family waited three years for justice in her slaying, but they said the justice rendered fell short.
Aaron Dean, the former Fort Worth officer convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting Jefferson in 2019, was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 12 years in prison. The decision marked an end to a long-awaited trial in a killing that spurred a conversation about race and policing in a precursor to the nationwide social justice protests the following summer.
Dean was sentenced to 11 years, 10 months and 12 days in prison. The Tarrant County jury didn’t say how it reached the sentence, but Jefferson’s loved ones believe it referenced the age of Jefferson’s 11-year-old nephew, Zion, who was with her when Dean killed her, as well as the date it happened: Oct. 12, 2019.
“There’s a message in this,” Ashley Carr, Jefferson’s oldest sister, said after the verdict. “It might not be the message that we wanted, and the whole dream, but it’s some of it.”
Carr and supporters called the decision historic. Before Dean’s arrest, no Tarrant County officer had ever faced a murder charge. Jurors rejected the murder charge, which could have carried a life sentence, and found him guilty instead of manslaughter. The family’s federal civil lawyer Lee Merritt said Dean’s conviction is the first for an on-duty officer killing in Tarrant County. Carr said they saw Dean stand trial, whereas few other families of Black women killed by police nationwide have had the same chance.
“But when we use the word ‘historic,’ it is a recognition in this case of the unequal and inequitable application of law for white people versus African American people,” North Texas pastor and activist Collin Packer said during a news conference at the house where Jefferson was killed. “There is little doubt in the minds of those in this community that this is not the first on-duty murder by an officer in Tarrant County. It’s simply the first time a DA, grand jury and a jury were willing to bring a conviction of an officer.”
”That’s right,” Merritt said.
The jury of seven men and five women deliberated Dean’s punishment about 13 hours over two days before reaching a decision about 2 p.m. Although some jurors were people of color, none were Black. Dean is white. Jefferson was Black.
Dean, 38, stood emotionless and stared ahead as state District Judge George Gallagher read the decision. The former officer then sat down with his defense team and looked at the judge as each juror confirmed the verdict. A black Bible lay on the table next to him.
Dean must serve half his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
Jefferson’s relatives and community members expressed mixed reactions after the decision. But, her loved ones said, Jefferson’s death and Dean’s sentence could be a catalyst for change in Fort Worth policing.
“No amount of sentencing will make me feel as though we achieved some type of justice,” Ashley Carr told Dean during victim-impact statements on behalf of her sister Amber, who had been hospitalized during the trial with pneumonia. “Atatiana should still be here. She had big dreams and goals.”
Carr looked down and furrowed her eyebrows as she read her sister’s statement. She occasionally glanced up at Dean, who sat up straight and watched her.
The same jurors found Dean guilty of manslaughter Thursday after weighing his guilt for about 14 hours over two days. Dean faced two to 20 years in prison but was also eligible for probation. Dean had been free on bond but was jailed after his manslaughter conviction.
Prosecutors asked jurors for the maximum sentence while defense attorneys argued Dean deserved probation.
Jurors left the courthouse Tuesday without commenting as they were escorted by deputies.
Dean shot Jefferson through her bedroom window from the backyard of her mother’s home after a concerned neighbor called a nonemergency police line. The home’s doors were open and lights were on inside. Jefferson and Zion Carr, who was 8 at the time, were playing video games and left the doors open to air out smoke after they burned hamburgers.
Jefferson, an aspiring doctor raised in Dallas’ Oak Cliff, moved in to care for her ailing mother and Zion, whose mother also was in poor health.
The shooting happened just seven months before the nationwide reckoning after a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd in 2020.
Prosecutors argued since the trial began Dec. 5 that Jefferson had a right to defend herself and Dean didn’t see Jefferson’s gun or follow proper procedures when he arrived at the home. During the guilt-innocence phase of the trial, Dean testified he saw the barrel of Jefferson’s gun. His lawyers said in opening statements he saw a green laser pointed at him, but Dean did not testify to that.
Dean’s defense attorneys said Dean acted to protect himself and his fellow officer, Carol Darch, when he shot Jefferson. Dean was trained by Fort Worth police to “eliminate a threat” and meet deadly force with deadly force, attorney Bob Gill said.
Dean and Darch did not announce themselves when they responded to Jefferson’s home, which was a focus during the trial. Dean said he suspected a burglary was in progress and he didn’t want to alert a perpetrator.
During the punishment phase of the trial, witnesses testified about Jefferson and Dean’s characters, including a psychologist who said he evaluated Dean before he was hired by Fort Worth police and concluded Dean wasn’t fit for police work. Dean successfully appealed the psychologist’s finding and finished the police academy in 2018.
About two dozen people crowded inside a courthouse hallway Tuesday with cases of water, soda, snacks and doughnuts as they waited for the jury’s decision. People set up lunch stations in the hallway with pizza and barbecue. State troopers roamed through the courthouse hallways.
As word of a verdict rippled through the hallways, observers lined up outside the courtroom.
Jurors entered the courtroom, some with their eyes wet with tears. A juror who sat closest to Jefferson’s family looked around the gallery before his eyes fell on Ashley Carr. She released a deep breath when the verdict was read and hunched forward. The juror near her watched her and his eyes appeared to fill with tears.
Moments later, Ashley Carr took the stand to read victim-impact statements on behalf of herself and Amber Carr. Another man on the jury blinked back tears as Jefferson’s sister spoke about the plans they had with Jefferson, including “more concerts to go to” and watching her grow into a successful doctor.
“She was in her home, which should have been the safest place for her to be, and yet turned out to be the most dangerous,” Ashley Carr said. “She was murdered.”
She paused briefly in the middle of her statements and let out a deep breath. She told Dean he was “puffed up” and full of himself, and she was jealous he was able to spend time with family after Jefferson died. Neither of Jefferson’s parents was alive to see the trial. Her mother, Yolanda Carr, died within three months of her killing.
Ashley Carr said their mother spent her last months overcome with grief and sorrow before her death.
“As her big sister, I live every day with the pain that I could not do my job and protect her,” she said. “She was a beautiful flower just starting to bloom, and she was cut down senselessly.”
Ashley Carr told Dean her sister said Zion feels as if he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, but he’ll grow into a successful young man the “way that his Aunt Tay would want him to be.” Amber Carr said Jefferson was Zion’s auntie and “he really loved her” because they were so similar.
Merritt, the Jefferson family’s lawyer, said while he considered the sentence a “community victory” and “a relief,” it wasn’t the justice they thought Jefferson deserved, adding they plan to pursue federal civil rights charges.
“We are declaring ... that her name will not go in vain, but that her name will be a sounding cry for accountability in Fort Worth and areas of the country who have shied away from doing justice and accountability for far too long,” Merritt said during a news conference outside the family’s home.
He said of area officers he’s seen on trial in recent years, “Dean was easily the least contrite.” Dean never offered an apology or “authentic remorse for what happened,” Merritt said.
Fort Worth police declined to comment. Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson said the trial was “difficult for all involved, including our community.”
”This trial wasn’t about politics and it wasn’t about race,” Wilson wrote. “If someone breaks the law, they have to be held accountable. The jury agreed. We thank the jury members for making sure justice was served.”
U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, whose district includes Fort Worth, called the sentencing “another step towards justice and accountability.” He said they must now “remain committed to enacting common-sense reforms that will prevent tragedies like this from continuing to happen to communities of color.”
James Smith, the neighbor who called police to Jefferson’s home before she was shot, said he was satisfied with Dean’s punishment even though he’d hoped for the maximum. Smith testified during the guilt-innocence phase of the trial that he relives the shooting daily and feels somewhat responsible for Jefferson’s killing.
He said Tuesday he was still processing the jury’s decision, but echoed sentiments that Jefferson’s death could impact the future of local police work.
“There’s still work to be done,” Smith said. “And Atatiana will help me champion change in the city of Fort Worth.”
Fort Worth City Council member Chris Nettles said while he finds comfort in knowing “a murderer will spend time in prison,” he is disappointed in the length of the sentence, which he called “the bare minimum.”
”Are we supposed to celebrate the fact that the justice system did its job?” Nettles said. “Black people are tired of being told to ‘be grateful’ and ‘look at the bright side’ when getting handed the crumbs of society.”
Other North Texas officers accused of murder in recent years include Dallas police Officer Amber Guyger, who was convicted in 2019 of murdering Botham Jean, and Balch Springs police Officer Roy Oliver, who was found guilty in 2018 of murdering Jordan Edwards.
Guyger, a white officer who was off-duty but still in uniform when she fatally shot Jean, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Jean, 26, was an innocent Black man who was eating ice cream on his couch when Guyger entered his apartment after mistaking it for her own, which was a floor below Jean’s. She testified she mistook him for an intruder and shot him after he stood up.
Oliver was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Oliver, who was white, was on duty when he murdered Jordan, a Black 15-year old who had done nothing wrong and was unarmed as he left a party. The teen was sitting in the passenger seat of a car driving away when Oliver fatally shot him with a rifle.
Allison Jean, the mother of Botham, said Tuesday that Dean should’ve received a murder conviction, adding that she extends support to Jefferson’s family. She noted that Dean’s punishment was slightly more than Guyger’s 10-year sentence.
“This penalty certainly shows a change in treatment of police officers who use unnecessary deadly force on law abiding citizens,” Allison Jean told The Dallas Morning News.
“I hope the family can get through this chapter and that the city of Fort Worth takes responsibility for having such a bad cop employed by them.”
———
