Aaron Dean, the Texas cop who shot and killed a 28-year-old woman in her own home while doing a welfare check, resigned today to avoid being fired.
The former Fort Worth police officer may still face criminal charges.
Dean, who is white, shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson through her bedroom window less than two seconds after yelling commands at her to put her hands up as you can see in the bodycam video above.
Jefferson, who was black, had been playing video games with her nephew prior to being shot. The 8-year-old boy was still in the room when his aunt was shot.
Fort Worth police initially tried to do a smear job on Jefferson, pointing out that they found a gun in her home but later admitted that detail was irrelevant.
Police were responding to a call from a neighbor that she had left her front door open. Now that neighbor regrets making the call.
Dean, who joined the force in April 2018, claimed he perceived a threat but cops are trained to fear their own shadows.
According to the New York Times.
Two police officers drove to her home after her neighbor called a nonemergency line at 2:23 a.m. Saturday and asked for officers to check on the house because its front and side doors had been open for several hours. The officers parked about a block away and quietly crept around outside the house, passing by the two open doors and opening a gate to the back yard, according to body camera video.
One officer shone a light through Ms. Jefferson’s bedroom window and, seeing Ms. Jefferson, shot her just seconds after he shouted, “Put your hands up! Show me your hands!”
He never identified himself as a police officer, according to Lt. Brandon O’Neil, a department spokesman. The department said in an initial statement that the officer had perceived “a threat,” but did not elaborate.
“Had the officer not resigned I would have fired him for violations of several policies, including our use of force policy, our de-escalation policy, and unprofessional conduct,” said Fort Worth Police Chief Ed Kraus during a press conference Monday.
Kraus said that Dean’s record will reflect that he was dishonorably discharged.
Watch the press conference below which begins 10 minutes into the video.
Below is a video from Dean’s graduation ceremony from the police academy. He comes onstage at the :55 mark.
