Fort Worth chief: 'absolutely no excuse' for woman's killing
Source: Associated Press
Fort Worth chief: absolutely no excuse for womans killing
By JAKE BLEIBERG and JILL BLEED
October 15, 2019
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) The furor Tuesday over the killing of a black woman by a white Fort Worth officer became increasingly about a gun pointed at a bedroom window. But the police chief and activists said the focus was on the wrong gun.
Officer Aaron Dean was arrested on a murder charge Monday in the slaying of Atatiana Jefferson. Police released an arrest warrant Tuesday quoting the victims 8-year-old nephew as saying Jefferson had pulled out a gun after hearing suspicious noises behind her house.
Black politicians and others criticized the police and the media for bringing up Jeffersons weapon, angrily accusing the department of trying to deflect blame onto an innocent victim.
The Fort Worth Police Department is going about the task of providing a defense for this officer, said Lee Merritt, an attorney for the Jefferson family.
Interim Police Chief Ed Kraus himself declared there was absolutely no excuse for the killing and said Jefferson behaved as any Texas homeowner would have on hearing a prowler. It wasnt clear from the warrant whether Dean even saw her weapon through the glass.
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