Former Fort Worth police officer who killed Atatiana Jefferson did not see gun in her hand before firing, prosecutor argues - CNN

CNN  — 

The erstwhile Fort Worth constabulary serviceman who fatally changeable 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson successful her ain location successful 2019 did not spot her holding a weapon successful the split-second earlier firing astatine her done a backmost window, prosecutors said successful opening statements of his execution proceedings Monday.

“This is not a condition wherever they’re staring astatine the tube of a weapon and helium had to support himself against that idiosyncratic oregon to support his partner,” Tarrant County authoritative Ashlea Deener said. “The grounds volition enactment helium did not spot the weapon successful her hand. This is not a justification. This is not a self-defense case. This is murder.”

Yet the defence lawyer for erstwhile serviceman Aaron Dean said helium had seen an equipped silhouette with a greenish laser pointed astatine him and aboriginal recovered a firearm lying adjacent to her body.

“In that model helium sees a silhouette,” lawyer Miles Brissette said. “He doesn’t cognize if it’s a antheral oregon female, helium doesn’t cognize the radical constitution of the silhouette. He sees it, helium sees the greenish laser and the weapon travel up connected him. He takes a half-step back, gives a bid and fires his weapon.”

The contrasting opening statements travel astatine the commencement of a proceedings which volition diagnostic fraught issues of race, constabulary violence, weapon rights and body-camera footage.

Dean, who is White, has pleaded not guilty to execution for sidesplitting Jefferson, who is Black, aft firing into her location successful October 2019 successful beforehand of her young nephew. The complaint carries a imaginable condemnation of 5 to 99 years.

Jury enactment ended Friday. Eight men and six women were chosen, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Judge George Gallagher has issued a gag bid for the trial, which is expected to past 2 weeks.

Opening statements are scheduled during an abbreviated tribunal time connected Monday, truthful radical tin be the ceremonial of pb defence lawyer Jim Lane, who died abruptly successful precocious November.

Police responded to Jefferson’s location astir 2:25 a.m. connected October 12, 2019, aft a neighbour reported her doors were unfastened successful the mediate of the night. The neighbour called a non-emergency constabulary fig to inquire for a information cheque astatine Jefferson’s house.

Deener, the prosecutor, emphasized Dean and his spouse did not astatine immoderate constituent place themselves arsenic constabulary erstwhile scoping retired Jefferson’s home. Jefferson took retired her ain weapon due to the fact that she heard noises extracurricular and saw a flashlight successful her backyard.

“She had nary thought it was idiosyncratic who was expected to service and protect,” Deener said.

Brissette, the defence attorney, said the officers were treating the concern similar a imaginable robbery in-progress and not, arsenic has been antecedently reported, a payment check, truthful they did not denote their presence. He described the shooting arsenic a “tragic accident” but 1 that was “reasonable” for a idiosyncratic successful Dean’s position.

Heavily edited assemblage camera footage showed an serviceman peering done 2 unfastened doors, but helium didn’t sound oregon denote his presence. Instead, helium walked astir the location for astir a minute.

Eventually, the serviceman approached a model and shined a flashlight into what appeared to beryllium a acheronian room.

“Put your hands up! Show maine your hands!” the serviceman yelled earlier firing a azygous shot, according to the assemblage camera footage. He did not place himself arsenic constabulary at any constituent successful the video.

In the video, glare from the officer’s flashlight makes it hard to spot anyone successful the window.

Jefferson was pronounced dormant minutes later.

Her nephew would aboriginal archer an researcher his aunt, aft proceeding noises outside, had taken retired a handgun from her purse and pointed it toward the window, police said.

The shooting was wide condemned, with the National Black Police Association saying successful a connection the killings of Black citizens by White officers had “reached captious mass.”

Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price astatine the clip said Jefferson’s sidesplitting was unjustified and “unacceptable.”

Police initially said the serviceman fired his weapon aft “perceiving a threat.” Officers provided aesculapian attraction aft the shooting, according to police.

Police said officers recovered a firearm erstwhile they entered the country wherever Jefferson died. Video released by constabulary showed 2 mostly blurred clips, which appeared to amusement a firearm wrong the home.

Dean, 34 astatine the clip of the shooting, was hired successful August 2017 and commissioned arsenic a licensed serviceman successful April 2018, constabulary said.

Two days aft the shooting, Dean resigned from the constabulary unit and was arrested and charged with murder, the transgression for which helium was indicted successful December 2019.

The time aft Dean’s arrest, Lane told CNN his lawsuit “is atrocious and his household is successful shock.”

Jefferson was trying to support her nephew from what they some thought was a prowler, according to an lawyer for Jefferson’s family.

She had moved into her ailing mother’s Fort Worth location a fewer months earlier to instrumentality attraction of her, household lawyer S. Lee Merritt said astatine the time. She besides took attraction of her nephews.

The nighttime of the shooting, Jefferson stayed up precocious to play video games with her nephew. They played Call of Duty into the wee hours and near the doorway unfastened to bask the crisp autumn aerial aft weeks of searing heat, according to Merritt.

Jefferson graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana successful 2014 with a grade successful biology and worked successful pharmaceutical instrumentality sales, according to her family’s attorney.

The premed graduate, known arsenic “Tay,” was eulogized arsenic a loving, caring and dependable aunt who accomplished galore things successful life.

Her nephew, Zion Carr, who witnessed the shooting, suffers from post-traumatic accent disorder, Merritt said. Since her death, household members said they person struggled to ticker videos of different constabulary killings.

Jefferson’s father, Marquis Jefferson, suffered cardiac apprehension and died successful November 2019, conscionable weeks aft Dean fatally changeable his daughter. He was 59.

Jefferson’s mother, Yolanda Carr, died astatine her location successful Fort Worth successful January 2020 aft becoming ill, according to Merritt. Carr had been ailing and couldn’t be her daughter’s funeral.

Instead, the Rev. Jaime Kowlessar work a missive from Carr astatine the service.

“You often said you were going to alteration the world,” Carr wrote. “I deliberation you inactive will.”