Ex-Texas Police Officer Sentenced to More Than 11 Years in Prison for Shooting Death of Atatiana Jefferson

Aaron Dean listens to testimony during the sentencing phase of his trial at Tarrant County's 396th District Court on Dec. 16, 2022, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Amanda McCoy/Star-Telegram via AP, Pool)

Former Fort Worth, Texas, police officer Aaron Dean was sentenced Tuesday to 11 years, 10 months, and 12 days in prison for the killing of Atatiana Jefferson.

A Tarrant County jury deliberated about a day and a half before reaching a unanimous decision in the sentencing phase of the 38-year-old former officer.

On Thursday, after 13 hours of deliberation, the same jury found Dean guilty of manslaughter, rejecting the higher charge of murder. He was facing up to 20 years for his conviction.

The sentence appears to have some correlation to the date of the shooting.

Jefferson, a black woman who was studying to become a doctor, was inside her mother’s home when she was fatally shot in the early morning hours on Oct. 12, 2019. She had moved home to help her mother, whose health was ailing.

Jefferson and her nephew Zion Carr, were up late that night playing video games when Dean and his partner responded to an “open structure” call after a neighbor noticed lights on and the doors to the home were open.

Carr, now 11, was eight years old at the time of the shooting.

Unannounced Police Presence

Dean’s body camera was activated when the officers arrived on the scene.

The officers never announced themselves as police as they began looking around the property, making their way through a gate into the backyard.

Jefferson heard a noise outside, according to court documents. She took her gun from her purse and looked out a bedroom window into the backyard.

Dean, who testified in his own defense, told jurors he spotted a silhouette in the window and believed there was movement.

He said he could only see the upper arms of the body and that he began shouting commands to “put up your hands, show me your hand.”

Dean testified that he saw the barrel of Jefferson’s gun. He fired his service weapon, striking Jefferson. She screamed and fell to the ground.

Jefferson’s gun was found on the floor near her body, where she died.

Atatiana Koquice Jefferson, 28, was shot and killed by a police officer in her Fort Worth, Texas home after a neighbor called dispatchers to report the woman's front door was open, police said. (Courtesy of Lee Merritt)

Prosecutors argued throughout the trial that Dean went on that call looking for action and that he abused his power.

They also told the jury that Jefferson had the right to protect herself and her nephew in her home.

Defense attorneys said Dean acted within his training to protect himself and his former partner.

During the sentencing phase, Dean’s younger sister, Alyssa Dean, who is also a police officer, testified that her brother had “spoiled” her as a child, adding that they were very close despite their 10-year age difference. Alyssa also described her brother as ‘humble, hard-working, and caring.”

Kyle Clayton, a clinical and forensic psychologist who interviewed Dean before he was hired as a Fort Worth police officer, testified against Dean.

Clayton told jurors that Dean’s testing results indicated he had problematic personality traits of “grandiosity and interpersonal difficulties, including that this person would likely be seen as domineering or overcontrolling.”

Defense attorney Bob Gill asked the jury to sentence his client to probation since the jury had already decided that Dean had not intended to kill Jefferson when he responded to the call.

Jefferson’s eldest sister Ashley Carr delivered impact statements for herself and their sister Amber, who is currently hospitalized.

“I pity your ignorance … you do not know enough to be ashamed,” Carr said. “You’re not self-aware enough to understand your responsibilities for this evil act. You are so puffed up and full of yourself that your excuses you made during all of this, you would never truly repent,” she said.

“You went into an American citizen’s home because their doors were open, and you shot a black woman to death in front of an 8-year-old child,” she continued.

“Your service as a police officer is a permanent stain on the city of Fort Worth,” she continued. “Your two years as a cop marked a low point as policing in the Dallas-Fort Worth region”

Outside the courthouse, Carr told reporters that the “fight is not over” and that the family is planning to seek federal charges against Dean.