Live updates: Sentencing phase begins after Aaron Dean found guilty of manslaughter in shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson

TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — The sentencing phase for former Fort Worth officer Aaron Dean begins after a Tarrant County jury found him guilty of manslaughter in the 2019 shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson.

The verdict was reached after five days of testimony and more than 13 hours of deliberation.

Dean was taken into custody and transported to the Tarrant County jail following the reading of the verdict.

Now, the former officer faces two to 20 years in prison.

If the jury sentences Dean to 10 years or less and recommends that it be probated, Judge George Gallagher will have to grant it. If the sentence is more than 10 years, Dean cannot get probations and he cannot get an appeal bond, according to WFAA investigative reporter Tanya Eiserer.

The murder trial began on Monday, Dec. 5. 

Several witnesses for both the prosecution and defense took the stand, including emotional testimony from Atatiana Jefferson’s now 11-year-old nephew Zion Carr, the neighbor who dialed 911 to request a welfare check at Jefferson’s home, Dean’s former partner and Dean himself. 

Dean testified that he saw someone point a gun at him from the other side of the window, and his attorneys argued the shooting was self-defense.

Dean was visibly shaken when he started to testify about what happened. He told the jury he started shouting commands for the silhouette to “put up your hands, show me your hands.”

Said Dean: “I started getting that second command out, I saw the barrel of the gun, and when I saw that gun pointing at me… I shot a single shot from my service weapon.”

Prosecutors have argued that Dean violated his training and general orders, and did not identify himself as a Fort Worth police officer.

Prosecutor Dale Smith hammered Dean over the mistakes allegedly made in responding to the call at Jefferson’s home, especially driving home the fact that he did not see the hands of the ‘silhouette’ in the window nor identify to his partner there was a gun, or immediately start CPR on Jefferson.

“I know you’re crying now, but you weren’t crying when you decided not to administer CPR to Atatiana,” Smith said to Dean.

After five days of testimony, closing arguments were held on Wednesday, Dec. 14. 

Dean’s defense attorney Bob Gill opened by saying, “A tragedy doesn’t always equal a crime; it doesn’t always equal a law violation.” 

Gill said Dean had the right to self-defense and that Jefferson lost her rights the moment, “She [Atatiana] pointed a firearm at a Fort Worth police officer… the rights stop there,” Gill said. “It’s a crime and it’s an unlawful act.”

Both prosecution attorneys had closing statements. 

Prosecutor Ashlea Deener opened. “The power you have today is to hold him responsible, it’s to tell them [Atatiana’s family] that it all wasn’t in vain, it’s to say that she [Atatiana] matters. They matter, eastside matters. To say that we protect everyone.”  

Prosecutor Dale Smith addressed the jury in a rebuttal closing argument. Smith told the jury, Jefferson’s “only crime was love and protection for her nephew, not pointing a gun at a Fort Worth police officer.”

In closing, Smith said, “A tragedy, an accident that’s spilling your milk at breakfast… This is murder.” 

WFAA will stream the trial on multiple platforms — including WFAA+, YouTube and wfaa.com. (WFAA+ is available on Roku and Amazon Fire.)

You can also watch it in the below embed:

8:40 a.m.: Tarrant County Judge George Gallagher calls Fort Worth City Councilman Chris Nettles into the courtroom. Nettles has been under a gag order, but spoke Thursday after the verdict. 

Judge Gallagher has locked the courtroom and has cut the video feed, as court proceedings continue. 

8:22 a.m.: Prosecution witness Kyle Clayton, who did Dean’s employment psych review, is being vetted ahead of the jury being brought in. 

“My conclusion was that he was not psychologically suitable to serve as a police officer,” Clayton said on the stand.