Ex-cop indicted for murder in Atatiana Jefferson’s death

A former Fort Worth, Texas, police officer has been indicted by a grand jury for murder in the death of Atatiana Jefferson, the Tarrant County District Attorney confirmed to CBS News on Friday. Jefferson, 28, was shot and killed in October when Officer Aaron Dean fired through a window.

Dean, 35, was arrested in October, but all police shootings go before a grand jury, which issues charges.

Dean was in the backyard of Jefferson’s home when he shot Jefferson through a window after responding to a call from a neighbor about the front door of the house being open, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth reported. 

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Dean, who joined the Fort Worth Police Department in April 2018, resigned two days after the shooting and just hours before being arrested and charged with murder.

Aaron Dean Tarrant County Jail

According to Dean’s original arrest affidavit, Jefferson was inside a bedroom playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew moments before the shooting. The 8-year-old boy told police his aunt heard noises outside and that she grabbed her handgun.

Bodycam video from Dean’s perspective showed the former officer walking around the home, shining a flashlight into a window and shouting “Put your hands up! Show me your hands!” and less than a second later firing a shot. Investigators confirmed that Dean did not identify himself as an officer at any point.

Less than three weeks after Jefferson’s murder, and nearly two months before the grand jury decision,  the judge presiding over Dean’s case — David Hagerman — issued a gag order surrounding the proceedings.

Hagerman’s order prevents anyone connected with the case from making statements about witnesses, evidence or any opinion about Dean’s guilt or innocence.

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