FORT WORTH, Texas — Two members of Atatiana Jefferson's family on Monday filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Fort Worth and the former officer who shot her in October 2019.
The federal suit, filed by relatives Arita Eschor and Venitta Body in the Northern District of Texas, names Fort Worth and former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean as defendants. Jerome Eschor, Jefferson's biological father who died last year, is also listed as a plaintiff.
A spokeswoman said the city of Fort Worth had not been served the lawsuit as of Monday night, so was not able to comment.
On Oct. 12, 2019, Dean shot and killed Jefferson 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 nonemergency 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 backyard 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 moved forward.
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.
