Closing arguments begin today in Aaron Dean murder trial
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Aaron Dean testified that the "jury needs to hear from me." Photo: Amanda McCoy/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean testified during his murder trial that he believed there had been a burglary at the house where he was responding to a nonemergency call the night he shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson in 2019.
Driving the news: Dean, 38, took the stand in his own defense this week before both sides rested their cases.
- Closing arguments are scheduled to begin Wednesday morning.
The big picture: Jurors will be tasked with determining whether Jefferson's death was a murder or the result of an officer's reasonable actions.
- Both the defense and prosecution called use-of-force experts to testify Tuesday, offering differing opinions on the shooting.
Why it matters: This is the first time the public is hearing Dean's perspective on what happened the night he shot and killed Jefferson. He didn't give a statement after the shooting and quit his job at the Fort Worth Police Department before he could be fired.
- Jefferson's death gained national attention and her name was added to the long list of Black people killed by white police officers.
What happened: Dean testified that Jefferson's house looked "ransacked" when he looked through the glass storm door. He said he believed there was a "possible burglary."
- He said he went around the house into the backyard, saw a figure in a window and then the barrel of a gun pointed at him. He shouted, "Show me your hands," before shooting once into the home.
- Dean testified that he thought, "Who brings a kid to a burglary," after he and his partner went inside the house and saw Zion Carr, Jefferson's nephew who was in the room with her when she was killed.
Catch up fast: Zion, who was 8 at the time, testified last week that his aunt held her gun at her side after hearing a noise in the backyard and didn't point a gun at the window, contradicting his original statement to police.
- Dean's partner at the time testified that the former officer didn't say anything about seeing someone with a firearm before he opened fire.
- A use-of-force expert called by the defense said it was reasonable for Dean to have drawn a weapon because it looked like there may have been a burglary with someone still inside.
- But a use-of-force expert called by prosecutors testified that Dean "exacerbated" the situation at Jefferson's home by leaving the front door and walking into the backyard.
What they're saying: Dean said he didn't wait after shouting commands through the window because he said he was staring down the barrel of a gun.
- "We're taught to meet deadly force with deadly force. We're not taught that we have to wait. Any time we have a threat of deadly force, we can use deadly force to defend ourselves or someone else," he testified.
Of note: There are no Black jurors among the 12 people and two alternates hearing the case.