Ear Hustle

28 Year Old Atatiana Jefferson Killed By Ft Worth, TX Police During A Home Wellness Check

Texas police are in the news again!! This time it’s Ft Worth Police Department.  A young lady named Atatiana Jefferson was shot and killed by a Ft. Worth police officer during what was supposed to be a home wellness check.

According to reports a call was made to the police by a neighbor because the door to the home was ajar. Jefferson was said to be playing video games with her nephew and what happened once the police arrived made this wellness check turn into a nightmare.

Across the country there seems to be a “shoot first” and sort the rest out later mentality in various police departments.  New training and consistent audits are warranted for all departments so these officers who are sworn to serve and protect can ascertain the true difference in what is a threat and what is not.  These things cannot be left up to the individual to justify firing the weapon.

EarHustle411 and the writing staff sends our heartfelt condolences to the family of Atatiana Jefferson.

Read more as reported by The NY Times:

Photo Credit: Atatiana Jefferson’s Face Page

A Texas police officer responding to a call about an open front door early on Saturday shot into a woman’s home from outside her window, killing her in her bedroom, officials said.

The woman, Atatiana Jefferson, 28, who was black, died in her bedroom at 2:30 a.m., according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. The Fort Worth Police Department did not release the officer’s name, but disclosed that he was white and had been with the department since April 2018.

James Smith, Ms. Jefferson’s neighbor, told WFAA-TV in Dallas that he had called the police to check on her well being.

He told the police that two vehicles were in her driveway but that the door to the house was wide open, which was abnormal, according to call details released by the police.

There was “no domestic violence, no arguing, nothing that they should have been concerned with as far as them coming with guns drawn to my neighbor’s house,” Mr. Smith said.

Officers responded to a residence in Fort Worth, Tex., regarding an “open structure” call around 2:30 a.m. and found the front door open, the police said in a statement.

When the officers searched the perimeter of the house, one officer outside noticed a person standing inside, near a window. “Perceiving a threat,” he drew his weapon and fired once into the house at the person, the police said.

Officers entered the house, located the injured resident and a firearm, and began providing emergency medical care, the police said. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Body camera footage released by the police showed the officer, shining a flashlight, peering into a window and shouting, “Put your hands up! Show me your hands!” before firing his weapon.

Mr. Smith said he was shocked when he heard the gunshot.

“I don’t know what went on in the house, but I know that she wasn’t a threat,” he said.

The officer was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation, the police said.

In a statement, Mayor Betsy Price called on Fort Worth to support Ms. Jefferson’s family in its mourning.

“Writing a statement like this is tragic and something that should never be necessary,” she said. “A young woman has lost her life, leaving her family in unbelievable grief. All of Fort Worth must surround Atatiana Jefferson’s family with prayers, love and support.”

The Police Department said it would collect evidence, witness statements and body camera footage to present to prosecutors.

Amber Guyger, a Dallas police officer, shot and killed her neighbor in his apartment last year after she mistook the unit for her own. Ms. Guyger was convicted of murder and sentenced this month to 10 years in prison.

Source: New York Times

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