UPDATE: Officer Dean will be going to trial on May 16th, 2022
On October 12th, 2019, Officer Aaron Dean responded to an open-structure call around 2:30am and found the home’s front and side interior doors open. Officer Aaron Dean and another officer peered into the residence through a storm door, but did not see anyone. While further inspecting the home from the outside he saw a figure, yelled at them to put their hands up, and then fired his weapon. Because the call was “open-structured,” rather than a “welfare call,” they believed they were dealing with a possible break-in or home invasion.
Officer Dean is a young officer, having only served on the force since 2018. He was heralded during his training for making sound decisions based on his level of experience. He was indicted on a murder charge in the shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson and is facing a $200,000 bail. The Fort Worth Police Chief immediately called the incident a murder publicly, along with the Mayor of the city. Those in power have tried to convinced the public that he is a killer- rather than a public servant that acted in self-defense. He has not had his due process and deserves a fair, unbiased trial.
The National Center for Police Defense stands with Officer Aaron Dean and will be working to help cover the legal expenses required to have a fair trial. We believe that it was an act of self-defense as he only fired after Jefferson aimed her weapon at him.
