The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from a former Texas police officer who was convicted in the killing of a woman shot through her window. Aaron Dean was found guilty of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Atatiana Jefferson and was sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison, although he was initially charged with murder.
Dean, who is white, shot Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman, on October 12, 2019, after a neighbour called a non-emergency police line to report that the front door to Jefferson’s home was open. It was later revealed that Jefferson and her nephew had simply left the doors open to let out smoke after burning hamburgers, and were up late playing video games.
The guilty verdict against Dean was significant as it represented a rare instance of an officer being convicted for killing someone who was also armed with a gun. The main point of contention during the trial was whether Dean was aware that Jefferson was armed. Dean claimed he saw her weapon, while prosecutors argued that the evidence suggested otherwise.
Body camera footage indicated that Dean and another officer who responded to the call did not identify themselves as police at the residence. The officers speculated that the house might have been burglarized and proceeded quietly into the backyard looking for signs of forced entry. Dean, with his gun drawn, fired a single shot through the window shortly after shouting at Jefferson, who was inside, to show her hands. Jefferson’s nephew testified that she had taken out her gun as she believed there was an intruder in the backyard.