Aaron Dean鈥檚 case is now in the jury鈥檚 hands, as they begin deliberations over whether to convict the former Fort Worth police officer for murder.
Dean shot Atatiana Jefferson through her bedroom window in the early hours of Oct. 12, 2019, while responding to a call about open doors at her home. Jefferson was inside playing video games with her nephew, but Dean thought the house was being burglarized, he testified.
The prosecution argues Dean botched the call and murdered an innocent woman. Dean鈥檚 defense attorneys say Dean shot in self-defense, because Jefferson had a gun at the time she was shot.
On Wednesday, the judge asked the jury to decide whether Dean was protecting himself or his partner when he shot Jefferson. If convicted of murder, Dean faces up to 99 years in prison. The jury could also convict him of the lesser offense of manslaughter or acquit him. If he鈥檚 convicted, the trial will move on to the sentencing phase.
Both sides presented their final pleas to the jury Wednesday morning.
The prosecution鈥檚 closing arguments
Dean violated the privacy and safety everyone should be able to rely on in their own home, prosecutors told the jury.
Dean and his partner went into Jefferson鈥檚 backyard that night without ever announcing their presence or identifying themselves as police officers. When Jefferson heard a noise outside, she had every right to pick up her gun and look out her window to see what was going on, prosecutor Ashlea Deener said.
"You can鈥檛 create the danger and then claim self-defense,鈥� Deener said.
The defense鈥檚 case focused on Dean鈥檚 assertion that he could see Jefferson鈥檚 gun through the window before he fired.
But there鈥檚 no way Dean could have seen the gun, Prosecutor Dale Smith told the jury. Dean鈥檚 bullet passed through Jefferson鈥檚 bedroom window, and the glass shattering at high speed injured her face. Her hands and arms didn鈥檛 have the same injuries, Smith said.
"They鈥檙e not there. You know why? Because the gun was down. Because she didn鈥檛 know what she was looking at,鈥� Smith said.
Dean never warned his partner that he saw a gun, before he shot or afterwards when they went inside the house, Dean鈥檚 body camera footage shows. He found Jefferson on the floor of her bedroom but never administered CPR. Dean did notice her gun, saying, 鈥淟ooks like we have a weapon here.鈥�
鈥淭hat is not a declaration of a person that was sure of what they saw,鈥� Smith said.
Jefferson鈥檚 gun also had a green pointing laser. Defense attorney Miles Brissette said during his opening statements that Dean could see that laser trained on him before he shot. But that laser never came up when Dean took the stand on Monday, Smith pointed out.
Jefferson had no idea the noise she heard outside was two police officers checking on her house. Meanwhile, Dean was a 鈥渉ard-charger,鈥� and his 鈥済ung-ho鈥� attitude led to a senseless death, he said.
鈥淲hen he approached that front door, he could have said 鈥楩ort Worth police,鈥� and Atatiana would still be alive,鈥� Smith said.
The defense鈥檚 closing arguments
Bob Gill, one of Dean鈥檚 defense attorneys, agreed that Jefferson had a right to defend herself in her home -- but not in this situation.
"She had those rights up until the point that she pointed a firearm at a Fort Worth police officer,鈥� Gill said. 鈥淲e never, under the law, ever have the right to point a firearm at a uniformed police officer.鈥�
The prosecution did a lot of 鈥淢onday morning quarterbacking鈥� of Dean鈥檚 behavior that night, Gill said. Dean鈥檚 actions were dissected and criticized as 鈥渂ad police work.鈥� Dean agreed with many of those assessments during his time on the witness stand.
The prosecution can鈥檛 prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Dean wasn鈥檛 defending himself or his partner that night, Gill said.
"Does an officer have to wait until he鈥檚 dead before he exercises his right to self-defense? Of course not,鈥� Gill said.
Dean could see the gun in Jefferson鈥檚 hands, Gill insisted. Jefferson's hands didn鈥檛 have the same injuries as her face because her hands were out in front of her and closest to the window, underneath the cone of glass that exploded into her face, he theorized.
Dean did not try to save Jefferson鈥檚 life once he went inside the house, but Gill pointed out that her injuries were so severe, she would have died even if she was shot inside a hospital, the doctor who performer her autopsy testified last week.
"That medical aid, unfortunately, would not have mattered that night,鈥� Gill said.
Dean thought Jefferson still had a chance to survive when he found her, Dean testified on Monday.
Gill acknowledged that Jefferson鈥檚 death is a tragedy. But tragedy does not equal crime, he said.
"Nothing that we do here this week is ever gonna bring Ms. Jefferson back, unfortunately. Nothing can change that,鈥� Gill told the jury. 鈥淏y the same token, the tragedy should not be compounded by finding guilty a man who was relying on his rights as a police officer and his rights under the laws of the state of Texas.鈥�
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on Twitter @MirandaRSuarez.
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