Fort Worth approves $3.5M settlement for Atatiana Jefferson’s nephew after police killing
.jpeg "Nine-year-old Zion Carr (middle) holds up a sign on Tuesday morning in front of his aunt, Cerese Fortson (back middle right) and cousin Daleon Fortson (back right). They joined a couple dozen people at the District Attorney’s Office in downtown Fort Worth to call for a date in the trial of the officer who shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson.")
The Fort Worth City Council voted to approve a $3.5 million settlement for Atatiana Jefferson’s nephew, who witnessed a Fort Worth police officer shoot and kill his aunt in her home more than four years ago.
The council voted unanimously to approve the settlement on Tuesday, which was also Jefferson’s birthday. She would have been 33.
Because Jefferson’s nephew, Zion Carr, is a minor, the settlement will also need to gain the approval of the federal judge overseeing the lawsuit before it can go into effect.
James Smith, who was Jefferson’s neighbor, spoke during Tuesday’s council meeting and raised a concern he’s said he’s heard about the settlement amount.
“It might not be enough,” Smith said to the council. “But time — four years — this young man is struggling. He needs to move on with his life.”
Jefferson was killed in October 2019, after police responded to a concerned call from Smith, who lives across the street, about Jefferson’s front door being open late at night. When former officer Aaron Dean responded to Jefferson’s home, he saw Jefferson through the window of her house and shot her once, killing her. Jefferson had been watching her nephew, Zion, who was 8 years old at the time. The boy witnessed the killing, and testified in Dean’s murder trial.
The killing rattled North Texas, and the country, and triggered calls for justice in the face of police brutality.
Dean was convicted of manslaughter in December 2022. He has since appealed his conviction.
Meanwhile, two civil court cases have wound their way through the justice system: One was filed on behalf of Jefferson’s estate, and the other was filed on behalf of Zion. The now-approved settlement would close out the second of those cases.
“It does feel short, it’s not enough, but it’s the right gesture on behalf of the City of Fort Worth,” said Mayor Mattie Parker. “We don’t always agree on everything but there was full agreement on this issue along the way.”
A ‘leap toward accountability’
The council-approved settlement specifies that the settlement does not mean that the city accepts any liability in the lawsuit.
However, Smith, the neighbor who spoke at city council, said it still indicates some type of responsibility.
”Today you guys are taking that leap toward accountability,” Smith said to the council.
In an interview with the Star-Telegram, Jason Smith, a Fort Worth-based attorney who is not related to James Smith, said that the fact of the settlement and the amount approved do indicate something.
“I think the city of Fort Worth has been embarrassed by the killing of Atatiana Jefferson,” Jason Smith said. “I think (the settlement) is an attempt to show that they accept some responsibility – if not legally, then as a community.”
Jason Smith said that the settlement is a significant amount, particularly considering the difficulty of lawsuits alleging constitutional rights violations.
“A three and a half million dollar settlement is a very decent recovery for this type of case,” Jason Smith said. “Nothing will ever replace his aunt, but hopefully this will provide some funds to allow him to have some support and transition.”
How much will the nephew actually receive?
While the settlement has council approval, it’s not yet a done-deal. Because Zion is a minor, the judge presiding over the federal court case against Dean and the city still has to approve the settlement.
Jason Smith said that he doesn’t see any “red flags” in the settlement, though.
If the settlement is fully approved, the full $3.5 million won’t go straight to Zion.
Sara Zampierin, a professor and director of the civil rights clinic at Texas A&M School of Law, said there just isn’t enough publicly known information about the settlement to say for sure how much of the money will actually go to Carr. But there are a few factors to consider.
First, the settlement says each party will be responsible for their own attorney fees, meaning that the attorneys working on Carr’s behalf will take their payment out of the settlement amount. A city attorney said at Tuesday’s council meeting that the attorneys in this case are slated to receive 40% of the settlement amount — or, in this case, $1.17 million — although that amount could still be changed by the court.
(Jason Smith said it’s not uncommon for attorney’s fees to amount to 40% of a settlement, although one-third is more common in cases involving a minor.)
Because of Zion’s age, there will also be fees paid to the court-appointed “guardian ad litem,” who is responsible for ensuring his best interests are being served under any approved settlement. Those fees could come out of the settlement, too.
The settlement will then be broken into several buckets, according to a city press release:
A trust that the boy can use immediately, managed by a trustee;
A college fund that can be paid out as a lump sum if he opts not to go to college;
An annuity that would pay out in lump sums until he reaches 40.
Taxes and fees, such as trustee fees, might be deducted from the amount, although the long-term funds would also accrue interest over time, adding to the amount that he receives. A city attorney said the amount could increase up to $6 million.
James Smith, the neighbor who spoke at city council, said that the breakdown of the settlement aligns with what Amber Carr, Zion’s late mother, wanted for her son. The settlement, he said, is less about finding justice and more about making sure that Zion is cared for.
“She didn’t want to see a lump sum given to him at one time, and she wanted him to be cared for over a number of years,” Smith said.
He noted, though, that Zion has already lost his grandmother, his aunt and his mother.
“We pray that Zion makes it to 40,” he said.
This story was originally published November 28, 2023 at 11:38 AM.
