Members of Atatiana Jefferson’s family file suit against Fort Worth, ex-police officer
Members of Atatiana Jefferson’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Monday against the city of Fort Worth and the former officer who shot her in October 2019.
The federal suit, filed by relatives Arita Eschor, Venitta Body and Jerome Eschor in the Northern District of Texas, names Fort Worth and former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean as defendants. Jerome Eschor, who lives in Nigeria, has claimed that he is Jefferson’s biological father. Body is the sister of Yolanda Carr — Jefferson’s mother, who died last year.
A spokeswoman said the city of Fort Worth had not been served the lawsuit as of Monday night and was not able to comment.
On Oct. 12, 2019, Dean shot and killed Jefferson — a 28-year-old Black woman — inside her mother’s home in Fort Worth while she was playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew.
A neighbor noticed the door was open and thought it was unusual for the time of night. He called a non-emergency number to ask someone to check on the home. About three minutes later, Dean and another officer parked around the corner from the house, went into the back yard and, when Jefferson looked out the back window, Dean shot her.
Dean resigned and was charged with murder two days after he shot Jefferson, and he was indicted by a grand jury in December. But COVID-19 halted most court proceedings, and Dean’s trial has not been held. During a hearing in October, a judge said the trial likely will be scheduled for August.
The lawsuit accuses Dean of excessive force, assault and causing the wrongful death of Jefferson.
The suit says the city of Fort Worth “knew or should have known that Defendant Aaron Dean exhibited a pattern of escalating encounters with the public,” and failed to adequately train or supervise police officers.
“By their deliberate indifference, Defendants the City of Fort Worth Police Department implemented and encouraged policies, practices, and customs with deliberate indifference to the rights of citizens,” the lawsuit says.
The Fort Worth Police Department said it was not able to comment on the contents of the lawsuit.
Dean’s personnel records, which were obtained by the Star-Telegram last year, do not specifically mention “escalating encounters with the public,” although a supervisor noted he “has poor communication skills” with the public and fellow officers in a May 2018 performance review. The supervisor said his report writing was good, but he had “tunnel vision” and missed calls for help over the radio.
The suit accuses the City of Fort Worth, the Fort Worth Police Department and “its Boards, its Personnel Divisions, its agents and/or officials” of maintaining “interrelated de facto policies, practices, and customs,” including:
- Condoning or utilizing the use of excessive force during a wellness check.
- Failing and refusing to correct, discipline, and follow up on Dean’s actions as a police officer.
- Failing to properly train, supervise, discipline, transfer, monitor, counsel and otherwise control officers.
The lawsuit requests a trial by jury.
This story was originally published November 16, 2020 at 8:05 PM.
CORRECTION: This story has been edited to correct that Jerome Eschor is not deceased. He lives in Nigeria.
