Former Fort Worth, Texas police officer Aaron Dean has recently been found guilty of manslaughter in the death of Atatiana Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot in her home in 2019.

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Former police officer Aaron Dean has officially been found guilty of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Atatiana Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman, in her Fort Worth, Texas home in 2019. According to Judge George Gallagher, the jury considered both a murder charge and a lesser charge of manslaughter during its deliberations. 

Dean, who is caucasian, faces up to 20 years in prison. The Texas penal code considers manslaughter a second-degree felony, which is punishable by two to 20 years in prison with a $10,000 fine.

The jury will decide the now-former police officer’s official sentence. The sentencing phase will begin Friday at 10 a.m EST.

On Oct. 12, 2019, Dean and another officer responded to a call to check on Jefferson’s home around 2:30 a.m. due to a door being left open at the late victim’s home. According to CNN, Dean did not park near the home, knock at the door, nor announce any police presence while on the scene, which was also evident from body camera footage and Dean’s testimony. 

Dean testified that he suspected a burglary due to the messiness inside the home after peeking through an open door. 

He also added that Jefferson and her now 11-year-old nephew Zion Carr were playing video games when they heard a noise. In a testimony, Zion said his aunt left the door open to air out the home from smoke after burning hamburgers earlier. 

Jefferson grabbed her gun from her purse before approaching the window, Zion testified. Police officials said Jefferson was indeed within her rights to protect herself. However, in body camera footage, Dean can be heard shouting, “Put your hands up, show me your hands,” and firing one shot through the window, before fatally shooting Jefferson.

Dean later resigned from the police department before he was officially arrested. Fort Worth Chief of Police Ed Kraus admitted Dean was about to be terminated for violating several other department policies.

Another police officer was terminated, this time, for racist comments. Former Lexington Police Department Chief Sam Dobbins was fired due to leaked recordings of conversations loaded with racist and homophobic language. 

He was fired in a 3-2 vote by the city’s board of aldermen.