A black Texas woman was shot and killed by a white Fort Worth police officer who was called to the woman's home for a welfare check, authorities said.

In a statement, the department said it received a call at 2:25 a.m. reporting an open front door at a residence. Responding officers searched the perimeter of the house and saw a person standing inside near the window, according to police.


"Perceiving a threat, the officer drew his duty weapon and fired one shot, striking the person inside the residence," the department stated. In body camera video released by police, two officers search the home from the outside with flashlights before one shouts, "Put your hands up, show me your hands." One shot is then fired through a window.

story


The people of fort worth don't normally riot, but who knows?

Maybe they should, ftw pd needs to get a handle on business. Maybe we all should have rioted when they shot the elderly white man in his own garage

IDK, but I bet there are no hugs at this trial. I may be wrong though.

7 shootings since June 1

this guy murdered that woman
did not identify his target at all

What is it with these shoot first cops? Is it poor training? Are they too scared to do their job? I totally get that there is more to this, and all of us arm chair cops and lawyers can pick this apart with the evidence the news puts out there, but it just seems a lot of these are still bad shoots after the trial and evidence is common knowledge. What is going to happen to the homeowner who gets shot at and missed by police in a situation he is not doing anything wrong in his own home, and then shoots and kills a cop in defense?

Probably harder to make the correct choice at 2:25am in the morning. Going into a sketchy situation with limited knowledge of what you are facing.

I know at trial with all the evidence revealed in the light of day he is guilty, just saying.

And the story brings up a solid point, it was a welfare check cause the door was open. Maybe just maybe a knock on the door and yelling hello, police might have been a more appropriate response than a srt running outside house with flash lights. Wake me up creeping around my house in middle of night outside or any of you I bet we could end up either shot or shooting someone.

The Dallas situation was an effed up deal, this is an effed up deal. Could it be the Police Departments are lowering the bar for entry into the Police Force or speeding up the training wrecklessly to fill empty positions. Who in the hell would want to be a Police Officer today with the hatred and disrespect shown to them? You have to have nerves and convictions of steel to be an officer today. God bless anyone that chooses this profession in my book. The deck is stacked against you by the media and the population at large.

I called on me neighbor once. No one died. I'm happy with our PD.

Gotta love how they start the article with the race of those involved. Also stood out he had been employed tgere just 18 months. If he were an officer elsewhere prior to FW he still would of had to go through FWPD academy. I know its a fairly rigorous academy and a good amount do not make it.

Nobody is saying dont appreciate the police, respect the police, it's not a hard job etc. The reality is there have been 3 presumably innocent people shot in their own homes by police in the last few years that I can think of off the top of my head, then the poor lady shot while the office was shooting at a dog. The officer firing into the high school kids car, these are in the metroplex alone. Some outrage over the loss of innocent life should be expected

This will not end well.

and APD
will not talk about
the dog shooter
messed up stuff

No, I didn't say anyone here reading my message disrespects Police, but every news channel and paper talks about Police getting shot, spit on, thrown water on, called pigs etc. I hear ya on the screw ups in these 3 cases you mentioned. I think they are having a hard time filling positions and lowering the bar or something.

Sad state of affairs. It surprises me that sweeping the leg is not used more often, at this point.

I wouldn't be surprised at all. One thing that I remember as a kid was that rookies had to work with an experienced partner for a fairly long time. At least this is what I was always told. Now it seems that relatively inexperienced officers are turned loose much sooner.

Of course, I don't work day-in, day-out with police, so my perceptions could be completely wrong.

FW is very competitive in the hiring process. Its a tough task to get a job with them. They turn many away.

^^ This^^ World is getting Crazy!! not safe anywhere!!

It’s been happening for years. We just hear about it now because of video. They’re bad apples in every profession. They’re bad firefighters, bad policeman, bad coaches, bad teachers, bad lawyers, bad Dr.’s ......and so on.

DFW is going to have to get it's own Court Channel.....sad.

Someone needs to get a grip on these trigger happy cops with different or better training. I know it is a dangerous job with a lot of unknowns, but you can't kill completely innocent people and expect it to be justifiable.

Human nature to make mistakes. You'll NEVER fix that part. No matter how thorough the training someone will fck it up eventually. This guy certainly did. Can't imagine why you'd not announce yourself and just shoot a woman through a window

I still don't know why someone didn't knock on the front door?

For real? I know it used to be like that, but I've had direct dealings with them on some break ins at our yard and an accident one of my trucks was in recently. Its been some keystone cops type of stuff man. Had to explain to the officer writing up the truck accident what a DOT recordable incident is, what a UCR agreement is and how it differs from the companies actual insurance policy, what class license is required for a tractor trailer... took 28 days for the report to be filed. The break ins to our yard were even worse, took them 3 days and 6 calls from me for them to even respond to do the report. You could clearly see the hole cut in the fence, drag marks, and our material 50 yards on the other side of the fence half covered by a tarp.. they did NOTHING but write a BS report. Wouldn't even let me reclaim my material. Both instances the officers I was dealing with said FTWPD is reaching a critical level of officer shortage without enough recruits int he pipeline to fill the need. Leads me to believe they'll hire darn near anyone right now to get a warm body on the streets... hope I'm wrong but it sure feels that way as of late.

Don't make cops or men like they use to.

Did I hear they found a weapon on the floor where she fell?

They are saying they found a weapon “in the home” is what I heard-
Heck, I have several weapons in MY OWN home-

Not to mention if you are creeping around my back yard at 230 am I might have one of my guns when I come to window

First - officer did not announce himself as police and police car was not parked out front and thereby visible.

Second- from the "Show me your hands" to the gunshot was about one second. Nobody could react in that time. And the officer was outside, doubt if the woman could even see him, maybe couldn't hear him.

Third - if I see flashlights outside my house at 2 am I will absolutely be armed, especially without a police vehicle visible and no announcement of "police officer".

^^^^^^^this

Sounds like the officer who fired the fatal shot has resigned...

Kraus on Monday identified the officer involved in the shooting as Aaron Dean. He said Dean was placed on detached duty and stripped of his badge and firearm after he was served with his written administrative complaint yesterday.

“My intent was to meet with him today to terminate his employment with the Fort Worth Police Department. However, the officer tendered his resignation this morning before we met," Kraus told reporters Monday. "Even though he no longer works for the city, we will continue the administrative investigation as if he did. The case will be completed and reviewed by the chain of command.

My son in law works for them and saw firsthand what he went through to get hired. They lost a good amount of folks during his academy. I know some guys from the vity i work in that were LEOs here and still had to go through FW academy as a recruut. Have a fair amount of friends that work in PD or FD there as well. They turn a lot away during the process.

Life experience goes a long ways when being an LEO... too many hired now days straight out of college or still living at home with mom and dad (on their dime). Never been in an altercation or stressful situation... but they have a super clean back ground check and good test takers. Doesn’t always make for the best police officer. Give me an officer who can enforce the law with a non-bias outlook and has life experience. Not everyone needs to go to jail and not everyone is a criminal just bc they make a mistake or made a poor decision. Feel bad for all involved in this horrible situation. Wonder if he fired on purpose or if it was an accidental discharge.

Just saw he is in Tarrant County Jail on a Murder charge.

I feel bad for the neighbor that called for the welfare check. I’m sure he/she was a truly concerned neighbor that had no idea a simple welfare check would turn into a full SWAT team assault with the death of the person he/she originally called the welfare check on. May make people scared to call the people that are suppose to protect them.

Someone knocks on my door, I peak thru the window to see who it is. Hope I am not a "perceived" threat.

Looking forward to justice playing out just like it did for the last unjustified cop shooting.

P.S. I am a big supporter of those in blue. I would bleed blue if you cut me. But all I can say about this is WOW!

Im a big supporter of right and wrong....

This is a major issue with society in general, no one gets smacked around anymore and can get away with running their mouths all through life without getting put in their place. Then the whole catch 22 scenario comes into play, cops arrest and press charges for any little thing nowadays so those people cant get jobs in many places such as pharmaceuticals and any secure ares or law enforcement.

What a bloated mess or govt has become.

My ex Brother in law worked for FWPD years ago. He was pretty damn crooked. He got fired twice from em

Seriously ,he’s probably beating him self up pretty bad over it .

Yep.

I can’t even imagine.

Well the cop (Aaron Dean) was arrested and charged with murder... I bet he’s rethinking that fatal shot now... We were always taught years ago, you better be sure, you cannot call back that bullet.

Mike, you should have been a fireman

I was from 1990 - 1992 out in San Bernardino County in California, it was in 1997 I went to the dark side and became a cop.

Urban Fisher how did you come up with a full swat team. It was 2 officers checking the house. I'm not going to defend the cop. Unfortunately he made a mistake that cost a person their life. That mistake doesn't make him a bad person. And with that he is going to go to prison. What I dont iike
Is reading a headline with the color of skin involved. That should not come into play. This officer did not wake up with the intention of shooting a black person. And of course the race baiters and racist are making it all about race. And once again I'm left thinking the same thing. Where are the community leaders and activists when a black man kills a black man. They are no where to be found because there are no cameras and there is no money to be made.

We know man, it’s the same ol dog and pony show that’s been popping off since The Trevon shooting . It doesn’t look like it’s going to go away .

Dude was scared because he was in a black neighborhood. I bet money had he been in the Colonial neighborhood he wouldn’t have pulled the trigger before he finished “ let me see your hands”.

he probably wouldn’t have even pulled his gun out in the first place

Seems like a lot of bad mistakes here, but I wonder if it was truly racially motivated? Here's my point. At 2:30 AM looking through a dirty window, with the glare of a flashlight shining back in your face, do you really think you can even tell what color a person is at all?

It doesn't matter to me what color she is, seems like he killed her unjustly. However we all know the race card is going to be played here, I just wonder if you people who may have more experience than me in this kind of thing believe that he could tell what race she was through that window?

The ot has experienced alot of 230 a.m. calls in a bad neighborhood . Was she pointing a gun out the window? Quick, your life or mine, go

If she was he wouldn’t have been charged with murder or resigned before being fired. The chief even dismissed the fact a gun was found on premises as it was not relevant to the case.

I hadn’t heard the last part about the chief. Wow.

It wasn't racially motivated, it wasn't about her being black and him white. It was a police vs. not police thing. The problem was he was "blue" and she wasn't.

i think that dude just wanted to shoot somebody
he didn't care who it was

oh my
don't go looking in peoples window

you defending that idiot ?

yep

The officer should not have even been in the backyard! The rights of the homeowner rise above whatever the officers perceived to be the problem. There was no life or death circumstance to warrant them in the backyard!

Perry can probably get you a seat in one of those screaming red trucks!

We are about to hire a couple of people.

I guess I'm a little disappointed in some of the comments. But then I'm not that suprised. I've never understood how people that have no experience in law enforcement or fire fighting or being a lawyer can have so much knowledge. It's amazing, some of yall should get together. I'm sure your accusations and comments could solve the worlds problems. And you dont even have to leave your house.
One poster said full swat team mode. There were 2 officers. 1 said the officer was probably scared because it was a black neighborhood. Do you know for sure it was a black community. Are you able to tap into this officers mine
And 1 said if it had been in colonial neighborhood he probably would not of shot. Basically your saying he is a racist and only going to shoot depending on the neighborhood.
Ft.Worth has gotten out in front of this. Although I wish the mayor would of chosen her words more wisely. Her statement has already convicted the officer and set Ft.Worth up for a hugh lawsuit. I guess we are now guilty before trial. I just think ad adults we should think before we make some of these ignorant comments.

don't know about the rest, but yes, it's a black community. lot's of gangs and crack. it was off allen st. That said, I don't think it was racial.

We're sorry. Our only goal was to not disappoint you. We will try to align our thoughts to be the same as yours so we can avoid causing confusion or the fact that others may have different opinions. Please forgive us.

There are about 1000 police shootings annually that result in death in America. 98% plus are cleared by investigation as good shoots, IE, justified under the law. LE makes millions of citizen contacts annually....millions and millions. Hundreds of thousands of arrests. Huge numbers of body cameras on them every minute of every day. So the percentage of police misconduct, or mistakes, is a tiny fraction of a percentage point if you consider all of it. It is what it is guys. You can't give life and death decisions to a human and then not factor in human error. It is just stupid to ignore it. There is also NO way around it. EVER. Argue all you want, point fingers, listen to the media, believe whatever you want to believe, but LE does the job effectively and at a higher level than EVER before in this nation. PERIOD.

If mistakes become murder, then so be it. Prosecute them under the law just like everyone else.

What are your thoughts on the interim police chief’s comments?

"Had the officer not resigned, I would have fired him for violations for several policies, including our use of force policy, our de-escalation policy and unprofessional conduct," Kraus added.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...shot-atatiana-jefferson-resigns-n1065866

You nailed it on the dot. They don't have any life experiences. They turn away everyone else.

I agree. I think what you do is a thankless, at times, job, and one with a level of danger I’ll hopefully never have to experience. Humans make mistakes. Accountability for mistakes needs to happen, too.

I’m not saying your job is easy, that I could do it, or anything of the sort. The vast majority of police interactions with the public are fine, thankfully. When there are bad cops (like the one recently who was caught planting drugs on people during traffic stops) or cops who screw up and kill innocent people (such as Guyger and Dean) they should be treated like anyone else. That’s part of the job, at least as a lot of non-LEO see it. It’s tough, dangerous and thankless, but that’s the job.

I’m happy to be retired after 26years as a cop. With that being said I’ve noticed something to think about; police work has changed as have the people doing it. Years ago there were mostly military guys and girls, now a lot of less life experienced guys and girls. The environment has changed. Used to be a cop said stop and crooks took an [censored] whooping if they didn’t and didn’t complain because they’re parents always told them take your punishment because you know you did wrong. Now, parents make excuses for troubled jerks. Departments have trouble getting positions filled because of little life experience and not many qualified people to apply. Also a lot of applicants don’t want the job now because of a hate the cops culture. Departments have had to lower their standards to just fill a uniform to get a body in a car. I pray things change soon for the young cops out there. Be safe brothers and sisters!

Agreed-
Good post sir-

Fireman also used to have past k knowledge of building construction and general knowledge of tools , not anymore. So who's fault is it? Parents right?

???

Well said! I will also add that when working deep nights you go from bad call to bad call. They went there expecting a burglar thus not knocking. Now should they have tried to call the homeowner, sure but sometimes you have a screen full of calls and you cut corners to help your buddies out. You also come to know that most the time you cant find good numbers from your available resources. Should it be that way, no. But you would all raise hell if you waited an hour for an officer. This stuff becomes commonplace. This time the guy f-Ed up and shot the homeowner. Prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law, but also realize the job is far different than what most of you think it is. The one thing I have never lost in police work is empathy. It doesn’t ever seem to work the other way when we are discussing officers.

Urburn fisher I'm sure it took you all day to think about what to say. That's very apparent after your swat team comment. Comments like yours are what keeps me from making comments about something I dont have first hand knowledge of. You have proven once again that the age old saying is true.

It's better to keep your mouth shut and be thought of as a fool than the open it and remove all doubt. Have a wonderful evening.

Looks like for right or wrong a gun was raised at the officer....

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/V...es-No-Excuse-for-Shooting-563141541.html

Prayers to all of those affected by this shooting, including the responding officers.
And shame on the police chief for hanging one of his own men before the investigation is even fully underway....

Why the hell are these stats relevant at all to anything they are unecessary . This is what nobody wants to talk about the media displaying this is what gets everything all riled up . I sound like the water boys momma but I don’t have a better description “ ITS THE DEVIL !!”

So does it change anyone's opinion of the officer now that it has come out that she was pointing a gun at him?

if it is true (lot's of misinformation out there) it doesn't change a thing. she would have been well within her rights to do so.

LOL

Bigbob,

What was he suppose to do if she pointed a gun at him? Take one in the chest? Yes, he put himself in that situation, but I think he is going to walk from a criminal standpoint.

He was just quicker at the draw.

Some facts and some assumptions. Lady at home with young relative playing video games late at night with front door open. She was a pharmaceutical sales rep. Neighbor worried and calls a non emergency line for a welfare check. Cops come...ok not SWAT give it up Rangerkev...yes I exaggerated for effect, get over it. But, they were called as a SRT (if I remember right it means Special Response Team). Hypothetical time...This time the lady hears the cop we'll say going through a gate to get in the back yard and she grabs her gun. This time she is a faster draw and shoots the cop and kills him. Is she now a cop killer/murder or someone with the right to protect themselves in their own house?

Again she is a sales rep and probably has no professional training in self defense nor tactical situations. The cop however is. You are considered a "professional" if you get paid for your expertise. So he has been trained in firearm use and other tactical situations. She has no idea what is going on...he does. In this case he is actually the perpetrator. He was the cause and effect by not handling the situation properly. Again this was a non emergency welfare check...no shots fired, no immediate danger reported. The way they approached the house, guns drawn unannounced, going through a dark backyard...that's what caused this situation that could have (and did) go horribly wrong.

And yes bad things happen to good people. This is a horrible tragedy. But even really good people may make a bad decision that effects many lives much bigger than the ones that actually perished. Example...good guy maybe drinks a bit too much with buddies. Happens to get in a horrible wreck and kills innocent people. Was he really a bad person? Maybe not, but he did make a bad decision that resulted in a horrible tragedy.

move out of the line of fire comes to mind.

Probably not run towards the window yelling “hands where I can see them.”

He suppose to take off running the opposite way and get shot in the back?

It happened to fast Bob.

Huh. I can see bad decisions by both. If I were the officer doing a simple welfare check, I would've had my flashlight on and announced my presence early on. If I were inside the house and heard noises, I wouldn't go to the window and point a gun outside - the interior light silhouettes you for a clear view to whoever is out there.

makes him even more of an idiot
for scaring that lady into defending herself

dont sign up for a job
you cannot handle

how big was the window
10 foot wide?

why not take 1 step to the right

1 to the chest would have bruised him & taught him a lesson though

You must be pretty fast for a Big Bob. My .45 covers over a 1000 fps. While I think the police were wrong to get in the unfortunate situation they were in (two individuals pointing guns at each other divided by a single pane of glass). I agree the officer was quicker to the draw.

It at least proves that he didn’t just shoot her for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING... she did not deserved to be shot at all but you can see how the scene plays out a little different and he gets jumpy and bang . Mistakes were made that cost a woman her life

If she had shot him she would have been within her right. she feared for her life.

did anyone determine why the front door was wide-open and had been for hours,...??

Actually I think your supposed to drag the body in the house afterwards. But, no I agree she would have been within her rights. If I was the officer down in the hood at 2:30am investigating a possible burglary and found the barrel of a gun pointing at me I'm pretty sure I would have done the same. You know she had the option of calling 911 rather than going for a gun also.

Wasn't that a night after that cold front? I have been known to open my windows and doors when we have nice weather temp wise. Maybe not at 2 am, but then again I am not a night person. Some people are.

true, but I still can't get past that they should have just knocked on the door and announced. it was a non-emergency call and they had plenty of help.

Agree 100%.

I pretty sure that dragging a body around is called Tampering with Evidence. Besides if you are correct in what you are doing it does not matter where the body falls.

Alright I’m going to join into the “what if” part of this-

What if the call came to the officers that it was something other than a simple welfare check, we don’t really know how the call was sent to them-
It’s possible the way the call was sent wasn’t a simple welfare check, and so arriving on scene to a situation that looked suspicious to them would put them into a different response mode-
To me this possibly matters a lot, and it would help me be more able to understand why TWO officers decided how they responded to this call with the limited and possibly incorrect information relayed to them at the time-
This is just another possible angle to this that I see as what MAY have started a terrible chain of events.

This guy has hired Jim Lane for an Attorney. He is the guy that cops feared to have to go against but the first to call when they are in trouble. I am telling you when this guy is hired the fat lady hasn't sung yet.

Although it was a non emergency call it wasn't a welfare check. It was an open structure call which I would think the officer would have a different state mind.

A simple knock on the front door could have prevented all of this. Why hasnt anyone said this yet???

911 was already there
come on dude

he represented my buddy
& got him
50 years
for organized crime
didn't hit a lick

If they roll up with whatever information that was sent to them, and there is possibly it’s actually a possible break in, they are not just going to knock on the door until they know what the situation actually is, unfortunately it didn’t get that far before it went tragic-

I saw where TX master pro was able to dismiss this whole thing by chalking it up to “It is what it is“ based on the percentages of LEO contacts/shootings/Man hours on the job. That may work for him but it doesn’t work for me. An innocent life snuffed out because of a stupid mistake never gets chalked up to “It is what it is“. As a matter of fact, I will bet a dime to dollar that he doesn’t just accept a police officer getting killed in the line of duty as it is what it is and just ate part of the job.

All of you staunch LEO supporters are always talking an eye for an eye, hang them up from the trees in the town square, electrocution, firing squad. Well, that stuff goes both ways. This idiot murdered that innocent woman in her own home and he deserves to die

You can’t shoot people on the other side of walls and claim fear for your life

she very well could have seen the gun and fired. yes you can.

Yeah, I obviously wasn't referring specifically to her death sport....clearly said if it's criminal treat us like everyone else. And as a matter of fact, getting killed in the line of duty is part of the GD job and we all accept that. Please let me die running towards the sound of gunfire instead of wasting away on my couch!

Dismissed it?? Just stfu with that nonsense

Lol, well if that's the case I would assume it applies to Leo also.....

It changes things, but not for the officer who shot her, in my opinion. If dispatch screwed up between the time the non-emergency number was called for a welfare check and it was relayed to the responding officers, it means the police made an additional mistake.

What’s the non-emergency line for, if they dispatch it as a burglary in progress and treat it like they’re going to be ambushed or someone is being held hostage when the caller just reported that a front door has been open for a few hours and requested a welfare check?

Except it was a window and that’s exactly what the officer did.

Really, he deserves to die? She pointed a gun at a uniformed police officer but he deserves to die.

now how in the hell did she know he was uniformed police officer? Not making a case for or against punishment, but this is just trying to introduce drama.

I agree. Hard to see who is who when you have a flashlight in your face.

You don’t even need to see a gun.

How in the heck did he know she wasn't a criminal? Sounds like a terrible accident to me. Certainly not worth the death penalty for the officer that redear wants.

2:30am in the hood. Front door is open. Anyone with common sense is thinking it’s a break in. Do you know what the tactical name for a doorway is? It’s called a vertical coffin for a reason.

How in the hell did she know he was a cop?

My point of the whole situation, he was in the hood and arrived scared. IMO, I’m not in his mind Rangerkev but I do have my own thoughts and opinions.

How in the hell did she know he was a cop?


clearly she did not....it is a [censored] up man, no doubt. A complete tactical training failure. It is not murder however. That is just freaking stupid. The Dallas case wasn't murder under the law though, and they convicted her so....

I would have thought manslaughter, but the punishment would be the same. I guess it would look better than murder on your record.