Fort Worth Police Officer Charged With Murder

Disclaimer: I am not your attorney and this is not legal advice. If you want legal advice, hire an attorney.

The AP reports:

      A white Fort Worth police officer who shot and killed a black woman through a back window of her home while responding to a call about an open front door was charged with murder on Monday evening after resigning from the force.

      Aaron Dean, 34, was jailed on $200,000 bond after the police chief said he acted without justification and would have been fired if he hadn't quit.

     Police bodycam video showed Dean approaching the door of the home where Atatiana Jefferson, 28, was caring for her 8-year-old nephew early Saturday. He then walked around the side of the house, pushed through a gate into the fenced-off backyard and fired through the glass a split-second after shouting at Jefferson to show her hands.

     Dean was not heard identifying himself as police on the video, and Interim Police Chief Ed Kraus said there was no sign Dean or the other officer who responded even knocked on the front door.

According to news reports, Dean and the other officer were at Jefferson's house to check on her welfare. The Dallas Morning News relates:

      Dean and another officer had been called about 2:30 a.m. Saturday to Jefferson’s mother’s home. A neighbor had called a non-emergency line to report that the home’s lights were on and its doors open.

      The arrest-warrant affidavit for Dean released by police Tuesday said the glass storm doors to the house were closed, but the front and side interior doors were open. Officers peered into the residence through the storm doors but did not see anyone, and they did not announce their presence, according to the affidavit.

      In body-camera footage of the shooting, Dean walks around in the backyard of the home. About a minute and a half into the recording released by Fort Worth police, Dean swivels toward a window, shouts at Jefferson to put up her hands and shoots her, all in a matter of seconds.

The footage from the body-cam is below:

"Body Cam Footage Of Ft Worth Officer Aaron Dean Who Shot Homeowner In Her Home"--Think Like A Cop (2 min.)

     Dean is described in the Dallas Morning News article as a "rookie cop." Nothing is said about the experience of the officer accompanying Dean. But I would ascribe much of the fault in this case to poor training and Dean's partner.

    The deadly outcome in this case began with the officers violating well established law. Per the developed case law concerning the Fourth Amendment and its search and seizure provisions, "[p]olice officers with legitimate business may enter areas impliedly open to the public, and are permitted the same license to intrude as a reasonably respectful citizen." United States v. Walters, 529 F. Supp. 2d 628, 637 (E.D. Tex. 2007). "However, a substantial and unreasonable departure from such an area, or a particularly intrusive method of viewing, will exceed the scope of the implied invitation and intrude upon a constitutionally protected expectation of privacy." State v. Seagull, 95 Wash. 2d 898, 903, 632 P.2d 44, 47 (1981).

     Dean and his partner did not act as "a reasonably respectful citizen," walking up to the door and knocking, but instead failed to announce themselves, crept around the house peering through windows, and entered into a fenced off portion of the yard. Dean was, essentially, trespassing; and his partner, whom I presume was more experienced, did nothing to stop or correct Dean.

     So, what are some takeaways? Well, let's first look at it from the standpoint of preventing or dissuading someone (not necessarily just a police officer) trespassing and surveilling your home at night. I think everyone should close their curtains and/or blinds at night to prevent someone looking inside. I would recommend that you actually go outside and try looking through your windows at night to see if your blinds or curtains stop someone from peering inside. There may be large enough gaps, and the orientation of your blinds (particularly if horizontal) may allow someone to see in from a certain direction even if you think you have completely closed the blinds.

    Close and lock your doors.

    Lock gates to your yard or portions of your yard. I don't know if this would have stopped Dean from climbing over Jefferson's fence, but perhaps it would have given him pause to reconsider exactly what he was doing.

    Consider whether motions sensors and/or automatic lights would be useful to alert you to someone entering your property. Consider getting a dog.

    Finally, window glass is neither cover nor concealment.