White Officer Found Guilty in Killing of Black Woman in Her Texas Home

Edgar Sandoval / The New York Times

A former Fort Worth police officer, Aaron Dean, was convicted of manslaughter in the shooting of Atatiana Jefferson. She was shot through her bedroom window.

A white police officer who shot and killed a Black woman when he fired a bullet through her bedroom window while responding to a call from a concerned neighbor was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury in Texas on Thursday.

The jury in Fort Worth did not convict the officer, Aaron Dean, on the murder charge that prosecutors had sought. He could face up to 20 years in prison after the two-week trial that took place after years in delays.

The October 2019 shooting occurred when Atatiana Jefferson, who had been playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew, heard a noise and grabbed her gun as she went to look out her bedroom window. Mr. Dean, who had been called by a neighbor who had reported open doors at the house late at night, yelled at Ms. Jefferson to put her arms up and immediately fired a single shot through her window.

READ MORE