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Former police officer Aaron Dean testified in the murder trial of Atatiana Jefferson on Monday. The Caucasian from Texas shot an African-American woman in 2019, during a welfare check. Dean entered a trial on December 5, 2022.
He also pleaded not guilty to the murder of Jefferson in 2019. Dean testified that he thought there was a burglar in the house at the time, and he was looking for signs to confirm the same.
He also claimed to have seen the silhouette of Atatiana Jefferson pointing a gun toward him. According to Aaron Dean, that was when he fired a single shot that ended up killing her.
Dean saw the silhouette of Atatiana Jefferson pointing a gun at him
On Monday, December 5, 2022, Aaron Dean took the stand in the Atatiana Jefferson case. The former Texan police officer testified that he was responding to a call about an open door in the neighborhood at about 2.30 am local time.
A neighbor who called authorities at the time testified last week and mentioned that he just wanted a welfare check on Jefferson’s family, and nothing more than that.
Dean and his partner Officer Carol Darch arrived at Jefferson’s house and looked for signs of burglary. When prosecutors asked Dean why he did not park his vehicle in front of Atatiana’s house, he replied:
“We don't want to give away our position to a criminal actor who might be on the scene, it's for officer safety.”
According to Aaron Dean, the house was very quiet when they approached it. As per his bodycam footage, he did not announce a police presence and did not knock either. He said:
“I could see objects strewn all over the floor… it looked ransacked.”
In his testimony, Dean continued by saying that he spotted a person when he looked inside the house through a window. However, he did not know that it was Atatiana Jefferson herself. He also claimed to have noticed movement inside the house. The former Texas cop continued:
“I thought we had a burglar, so I stepped back, straightened up and drew my weapon, and then pointed it towards the figure. I can't see that person's hands and we're taught the hands -- and it's what's in them that kills. We need to see the hands. We need to get people to show us our hands. We need to get control of those hands. So, I drew my weapon intended to tell that person to show me their hands.”
He mentioned that he asked the figure inside (Atatiana Jefferson) to show her hands repeatedly, whereas the bodycam captured Dean saying it just once and then firing. He said:
“I fired a single shot from my duty weapon.”
According to Zion, Jefferson’s nephew, Atatiana Jefferson reached for her gun after hearing suspicious noises from the backyard. He also claimed that the door of the house was open to let the smoke from burned hamburgers out.
It was also found that 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson had a proper license for the firearm that she possessed.
According to officials, Dean resigned soon after the incident took place before he could be fired. Authorities revealed that he did not cooperate with them. He was arrested but was set free on paying a bond of $200,000.
The officers did not know if the person inside was the homeowner or an intruder
Attorneys representing Aaron Dean asked him preliminary questions regarding his training to understand his competence. He was then asked to talk about the timeline of events that took place in October 2019.
Dean testified that when he saw the figure inside, he could not identify whether it was male or female. He also did not know whether the person inside was an intruder or the homeowner. According to him, he was simply responding to a possible threat. He said:
“We’re trained to meet deadly force with deadly force.”
Dean added:
“This jury needs to hear from me and hear the truth.”
Prosecutors have revealed that there was a gap of about 1 minute 17 seconds between the time that Dean arrived at the house and when he fired the fatal shot. On being asked, he also admitted that it was not the "best police work.”
It was also found that it took Dean and his partner about 2 minutes and 8 seconds to enter Jefferson’s house after she was shot.
He claimed that he opened fire after noticing that the gun was very close to him. Aaron continued:
“When my vision cleared, then I observed the person that we now know as Miss Jefferson. I heard her scream and then saw her fall.”
Prosecutors have tried to highlight the part about whether Dean saw that there was a gun inside before he fired the shot or not. They asked him if he had informed the other officers he called later that it was a possible burglary scene and there was a gun inside. To this, the former cop replied, “No.”
During cross-examination, Dean admitted that he did not announce the presence of police after arriving at Jefferson’s place.
Forensics video expert Grant Fredericks also testified in the Atatiana Jefferson murder trial. He said:
“They [body cameras] are located at a different position as the officer's eyes. A human would have a much greater ability to perceive than a camera would in this environment… not designed to replicate the human eye.”
The court is yet to discuss the audio from the former Texan cop’s bodycam. Fredericks is set to provide his testimony about the same in the upcoming trials.
