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Killing of Atatiana Jefferson

SOLVED2019Fort Worth, Texas3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

Atatiana Koquice Jefferson, a 28-year-old African-American woman and pre-medical graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana, was fatally shot inside her home in Fort Worth, Texas, in the early morning hours of October 12, 2019. Jefferson had been living with her mother and nephew since May 2019 and, according to relatives, worked in human resources. She was reportedly playing video games with her eight-year-old nephew when officers arrived at the home.

Police had been dispatched to the residence after a neighbor called a non-emergency line reporting that the front door was open. Although initially described as a "welfare call," it was later established at trial that officers had actually been dispatched to an "open structure" call, typically associated with potential burglary, which carries different police procedures. Body camera footage showed two officers walking quietly around the side of the house before Officer Aaron Dean entered the backyard. Upon seeing Jefferson in her window, Dean shouted "Put your hands up! Show me your hands!" and fired a single shot through the window within seconds, without officers audibly identifying themselves as police. Jefferson's nephew testified that she had taken her legally owned handgun—she held a concealed carry license—from her purse and walked to the window holding it at her side after hearing noises outside. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:05 a.m.

Fort Worth Police Chief Ed Kraus identified Dean as the shooter on October 14, 2019. Dean, who had been with the department about 18 months, resigned that day before he could be fired for alleged violations of use-of-force, de-escalation, and professional conduct policies. He was arrested the same day and charged with murder, posting a $200,000 bond. Dean declined to give a statement to investigators. On December 20, 2019, a Tarrant County grand jury indicted Dean on the murder charge, making him the only officer to face a murder charge in Tarrant County for an on-duty shooting.

Dean's trial faced repeated delays related to COVID-19 court backlogs, witness availability, a change-of-venue motion, attorney health issues, and a successful motion to recuse the original judge. The trial finally began on December 5, 2022, before Judge George Gallagher. On December 15, 2022, a jury found Dean not guilty of murder but guilty of the lesser included offense of manslaughter. He was sentenced on December 20, 2022, to 11 years, 10 months, and 12 days in prison—a term the jury appeared to tie symbolically to the date of the shooting. Dean is imprisoned at the Ramsey Unit in Rosharon, Texas.

The Jefferson family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Dean and the City of Fort Worth in May 2021. Dean's qualified immunity defense was litigated up to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in February 2025 that he was not entitled to qualified immunity on the excessive force claim, while a divided panel found he was entitled to qualified immunity on a related Fourth Amendment curtilage question.

Key facts

Victims
Atatiana Koquice Jefferson
Date
2019
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1990-11-28

    Atatiana Koquice Jefferson is born.

  2. 2014

    Jefferson graduates from Xavier University of Louisiana.

  3. 2018-03

    Aaron Dean completes the Fort Worth Police Academy.

  4. 2018-04

    Aaron Dean is commissioned as an officer with the Fort Worth Police Department.

  5. 2019-05

    Jefferson begins living with her mother and nephew to help care for them.

  6. 2019-10-12

    Atatiana Jefferson is fatally shot through her bedroom window by Officer Aaron Dean after police respond to a call about an open front door; she is pronounced dead at 3:05 a.m.

  7. 2019-10-14

    Officer Aaron Dean is identified as the shooter, resigns from the Fort Worth Police Department, and is arrested and charged with murder.

  8. 2019-10-25

    Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson announces evidence will be presented to a grand jury for formal indictment.

  9. 2019-12-20

    Aaron Dean is indicted by a grand jury on a murder charge.

  10. 2020-10

    A tentative trial date of August 2021 is set by Judge David Hagerman.

  11. 2021-05-19

    A federal civil rights lawsuit is filed against Dean and the City of Fort Worth in the Northern District of Texas.

  12. 2021-11

    Trial is rescheduled to begin January 10, 2022.

  13. 2021-12

    Trial is delayed to May 2022 due to witness unavailability; defense files change-of-venue motion.

  14. 2022-05-04

    Judge Hagerman denies the change-of-venue motion but grants a postponement due to lead defense attorney's health issues; new date set for June 23.

  15. 2022-06-28

    Judge Lee Gabriel approves recusal of Judge Hagerman; case reassigned to Judge George Gallagher.

  16. 2022-08-18

    New trial date of December 5, 2022 is set.

  17. 2022-12-05

    Trial begins before Judge George Gallagher.

  18. 2022-12-15

    Aaron Dean is found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.

  19. 2022-12-20

    Dean is sentenced to 11 years, 10 months, and 12 days of imprisonment.

  20. 2024-12-03

    Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals hears oral argument on Dean's qualified immunity appeal.

  21. 2025-02-25

    Fifth Circuit panel rules 3-0 that Dean is not entitled to qualified immunity on excessive force, but 2-1 that he is entitled to qualified immunity on the curtilage entry question.

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People

  • Atatiana Koquice Jefferson

    VICTIM

    28-year-old African-American woman fatally shot by police inside her home on October 12, 2019.

    citation on file

  • Aaron Dean

    CONVICTED

    Former Fort Worth police officer who shot Jefferson; charged with murder, later convicted of the lesser offense of manslaughter and sentenced to 11 years, 10 months, and 12 days in prison.

    citation on file

Places

Fort Worth, Texas

32.8010, -97.4294

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Atatiana Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman, was fatally shot by Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean through her bedroom window during a welfare/open-structure check in the early morning of October 12, 2019. Dean was later convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison.
Where did the killing happen?
Fort Worth, Texas.
Who was convicted?
Aaron Dean (Former Fort Worth police officer who shot Jefferson; charged with murder, later convicted of the lesser offense of manslaughter and sentenced to 11 years, 10 months, and 12 days in prison.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.

Sources

  1. Killing of Atatiana Jeffersonwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. White Fort Worth police officer fatally shoots Black woman in her own homenews · CBS News · 2026-07-07
  3. Fort Worth police shooting of Atatiana Jeffersonnews · CNN · 2026-07-07
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