TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — A Tarrant County jury has found former Fort Worth officer Aaron Dean guilty of manslaughter in the 2019 shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson.
Judge George Gallagher says after 13 hours of deliberations, the verdict was reached around 2 p.m. Thursday.
Dean, who is now in custody at the Tarrant County jail, will face up to two to 20 years in prison. The sentencing phase will being Friday.
Just before 9:40 a.m. Wednesday, Judge Gallagher read the jury their instructions, notifying them that they would each receive a hand copy. Gallagher said the jury has two charges to consider: murder or the lessor charge of manslaughter.
Prosecutors began closing arguments by saying to the jury, “If you can’t feel safe in your own home, where can you feel safe?"
The prosecution said that on the night Dean shot and killed Jefferson on the night of Oct. 12, 2019, he went to that call wanting action. That he violated his training and general orders, abused his power and put himself in danger and Jefferson paid the price.
“The power you have today is to hold him responsible, it’s to tell them [Atatiana’s family] that it all wasn’t in vain, it’s to say that she [Atatiana] matters. They matter, eastside matters. To say that we protect everyone."
Dean’s attorney Bob Gill then began his closing arguments.
“A tragedy doesn’t always equal a crime; it doesn’t always equal a law violation," said Gill.
Gill said Dean had the right to self-defense and that Jefferson lost her rights the moment, "She [Atatiana] pointed a firearm at a Fort Worth police officer... the rights stop there," Gill said. "It's a crime and it's an unlawful act."
Gill then pointed to Jefferson's nephew, Zion Carr's testimony.
“Zion Carr’s testimony took a different turn," Gill said to the jury. “You could tell he was under a lot of pressure and a lot of time had passed. Zion succumbed to the pressure and testified differently.”
Gill then hammered on the prosecution's experts' testimonies, the reasons why Dean didn't render aid, and ended by telling the jury Jefferson pointed a gun at Dean from the window in her home and when he saw that gun, had no choice but to use force.
Then, prosecutor Dale Smith addressed the jury in a rebuttal closing argument.
Smith told the jury, Jefferson's "only crime was love and protection for her nephew, not pointing a gun at a Fort Worth police officer.”
In closing, Smith said, “A tragedy, an accident that’s spilling your milk at breakfast… This is murder."
Following closing arguments, the jury was instructed to leave for deliberation.
Wednesday afternoon, the jury asked the judge for Post-it notes and several pieces of evidence, including photos. WFAA reporter William Joy said Judge Gallagher indicated he'll let the jury keep working until midnight if they want, or until they decide to stop.
Trial recap
Dean shot and killed Jefferson in the early morning hours on Oct. 12, 2019, after he and his partner responded to a non-emergency call to Jefferson’s home.
Much of what happened was captured on body camera footage.
Over the course of five days, the jury has heard from several witnesses and experts, including Jefferson's now 11-year-old nephew Zion Carr, who was with Jefferson the night she was killed, Dean's former partner Carol Darch, and the person who initiated the call, former 911 call taker Abriel Talbert.
In a surprising move, Dean took the stand on day four of his murder trial.
Dean said, as he stood in the back of the home, he saw a silhouette low in the window of Jefferson's house. He said he could only see the upper arms of the body, and he believed there was movement.
"Well, I thought we had a burglar, so I stepped back, straightened up and drew my weapon," Dean testified. "I couldn’t see the hands. So, I drew my weapon intending to tell that person to show me their hands."
Dean was visibly shaken when he started to testify about what happened next.
"I started getting that second command out, I saw the barrel of the gun, and when I saw that gun pointing at me... I shot a single shot from my service weapon," he told the jury.
Prosecutor Dale Smith hammered Dean over the mistakes allegedly made in responding to the call at Jefferson’s home, especially driving home the fact that he did not see the hands of the ‘silhouette’ in the window nor identify to his partner there was a gun, or immediately start CPR on Jefferson.
Throughout the trial, the defense tried to focus on Jefferson’s gun, continually trying to convince the jury that Dean could’ve seen it and that he was justified in killing her.
The prosecution argued he shouldn’t have been there at all and Jefferson was reacting normally.
Following dueling expert testimony from both sides Tuesday, the defense and prosecution chose to rest their cases.
WFAA will stream the trial on multiple platforms -- including WFAA+, YouTube and wfaa.com. (WFAA+ is available on Roku and Amazon Fire.)
You can also watch it in the below embed:
Live updates below:
Thursday
3:08 p.m.: Judge Gallagher announces sentencing phase will begin Friday morning.
2:37 p.m.: Judge Gallagher reads the jury has found Dean guilty of manslaughter.
2:08 p.m.: The jury reaches a verdict.
1:25 p.m.: The jury had pizza delivered and so far, has not asked any more questions during deliberations.
10:35 a.m.: Many people in the Fort Worth community, including Jefferson's former neighbor, religious leaders and a city councilman are waiting outside the courtroom as the jury continues to deliberate.
Wednesday
11:14 a.m.: Jury dismissed to begin deliberations.
10:55 a.m.: The prosecution begins a rebuttal closing argument.
“Her only crime was love and protection for her nephew, not pointing a gun at a Fort Worth police officer," Prosecutor Dale Smith said.
“A tragedy, an accident that’s spilling your milk at breakfast… This is murder,” said Smith in closing.
10:12 a.m.: The defense begins closing arguments. “A tragedy doesn’t always equal a crime; it doesn’t always equal a law violation," said defense attorney Bob Gill.
"Aaron Dean has a right to self-defense."
"She [Atatiana] pointed a firearm at a Fort Worth police officer... the right's stop there," Gill said. "It's a crime and it's an unlawful act."
Gill then pointed to Jefferson's nephew, Zion Carr's testimony.
“Zion Carr’s testimony took a different turn," Gill said to the jury. “You could tell he was under a lot of pressure and a lot of time had passed. Zion succumbed to the pressure and testified differently.”
Then, Carr's interview with police following Jefferson's death was played.
9:57 a.m.: The prosecution begins closing arguments.
“If you can’t feel safe in your own home, where can you feel safe? The prosecution said in opening closing arguments.
"This was a 28-year-old woman that was a daughter, a sister, an aunt – studying to be a doctor."
“The power you have today is to hold him responsible, it’s to tell them [Atatiana’s family] that it all wasn’t in vain, it’s to say that she [Atatiana] matters. They matter, eastside matters. To say that we protect everyone."
9:37 a.m.: Judge Gallagher began to read the jury their instruction, notifying them that they would each receive a hand copy.
