Fort Worth city council authorizes $11.25 million settlement in police fatal shooting of Atatiana Jefferson
The Fort Worth, Texas, city council unanimously approved on Tuesday a $11.25 million settlement for the family of Atatiana Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot by a police officer in 2019.
Under the proposed agreement, Jefferson's two minor nephews will receive their portions in a trust when they turn 18, and additional shares will be divided among other surviving family members. After the city council's approval, the agreement will be sent to the probate court to be finalized.
The agreement was announced by Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker earlier this month -- nearly seven years after Jefferson was fatally shot by Forth Worth police officer Aaron Dean on Oct. 12, 2019.
"Atatiana Jefferson's family and loved ones have suffered a profound and unimaginable loss," Parker said in a statement on Aug. 14. "While no settlement can undo the devastating impact of this tragedy, we hope this agreement offers a meaningful measure of closure and allows everyone to move forward."
The settlement stems from a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Jefferson's estate in May 2021 against the city of Fort Worth and police.
Jefferson's sister, Ashley Carr, welcomed the proposed settlement in an Aug. 14 statement sent to ABC News.
"This case represents a rare instance in which a family has received accountability both criminally and civilly following the killing of their loved one by a police officer," she said.
"We recognize how uncommon it is for families impacted by police violence to receive accountability on both fronts, and we do not take that for granted," she added.
Former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean was sentenced on Dec. 20, 2022 to over 11 years in prison after he was found guilty of manslaughter in Jefferson's shooting death. Dean pleaded not guilty.
Dean and another officer responded to a nonemergency call to check on Jefferson's home around 2:30 a.m. because a door was left open to the house. Jefferson heard Dean outside the home and suspected he was a burglar since he never announced himself as an officer.
She retrieved her gun and approached the window when Dean opened fire on Jefferson through the glass, striking and killing her in front of her 8-year-old nephew, with whom she had been playing video games.
Dean resigned shortly after the incident.
His lawyers argued during the trial that he was confronted by deadly force when he saw Jefferson with the gun and was within his right to respond with deadly force. However, Dean admitted on the stand that his actions constituted "bad police work."
Dean was convicted on Dec. 15, 2022, after a jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter -- a second-degree felony -- as opposed to a murder charge.
"My sister did not do anything wrong. She was in her home," Carr said in her victim impact statement after Dean's sentencing. "She was murdered."
According to ABC station in Dallas, WFAA, the city of Fort Worth also authorized in 2023 a $3.5 million settlement in a lawsuit filed against the city on behalf of Jefferson's nephew, Zion Carr, who witnessed Jefferson's fatal shooting.
