Fort Worth Cop Who Killed Woman In Her Home Charged With Murder

FORT WORTH, TX — The police officer who fatally shot a woman in her Fort Worth, Texas, home Saturday morning was arrested and charged with murder on Monday evening after he resigned from the force earlier in the day, according to reports.

Aaron Dean, 34, was booked Monday evening into the Tarrant County Jail, with bail set at $200,000, as the Dallas Morning News reported. Dean had resigned from the Fort Worth Police Department earlier in the day, interim Police Chief Ed Kraus confirmed earlier on Monday. Kraus told reporters he had planned to fire Dean before the ex-officer tendered his resignation.

The city's mayor spoke out earlier in the day, calling the woman's killing unjustified, according to reports.

Atatiana Jefferson was in her home playing video games with an 8-year-old nephew when police arrived after being called by a neighbor who noticed her front door ajar, according to multiple media reports. One of the officers began shouting commands after seeing the woman's silhouette in a darkened room, then opened fire through her bedroom about two seconds later.

Kraus told media outlets Dean had been placed on detached duty in the aftermath of the shooting, and was stripped of his badge and gun pending the outcome of an investigation.

"My intent was to meet with him today to terminate his employment with the Fort Worth Police Department, however, the officer tendered his resignation this morning before we met," Kraus said, according to CNN. Dean was hired by the department in August 2017 before being commissioned as a licensed officer the next April, Kraus told CNN.

Before the resignation, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price categorized the killing as unjustified: "I'm so sorry," the mayor said during a press conference with reporters. "On behalf of the entire city of Fort Worth, I'm sorry. To Atatiana's family, it's unacceptable. There is nothing that can justify what happened on Saturday morning. Nothing."

The killing has stoked racial tensions as Jefferson was black and the responding officer who killed her is white. The neighbor who initially called police, James Smith, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram he called a non-emergency police number for a safety check after seeing the door to Jefferson's home was open.