FORT WORTH, Texas — Amber Carr, the older sister of Atatiana Jefferson, walked up to the entrance of the Tarrant County Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in downtown Fort Worth on Tuesday morning, after driving from her home in Mesquite. Her 9-year-old son, Zion Carr, the last person to see Jefferson before she was shot dead in October 2019, walked next to her.
The mother and son joined a couple of dozen protesters already gathered outside of the doors of the building in a semicircle, holding up poster board signs and engaging in chants directed at those inside. Employees with badges around their necks walked past the group to get into the government building, which houses the district attorney’s office and criminal courtrooms. Many workers didn’t acknowledge the group. At least a couple gave a thumbs up.
The purpose of the demonstration, organizers said, was to go straight to the office that will prosecute the case against Aaron Dean, the Fort Worth police officer who shot and killed Jefferson through a window at her home during a welfare check, and demand a trial date following months of waiting due to COVID-19.
However, as District Attorney Sharen Wilson described in a statement, the judge in criminal cases sets the trial date. In October 2020, a state district judge set a tentative window of August.
“We, too, want justice for Atatiana Jefferson and all the victims of crime in Tarrant County who have had justice delayed because of the pandemic,” Wilson’s office said in the statement.
The protesters, whether or not they were aware of the DA’s powers in setting trial dates, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram they came to the heart of government in Fort Worth with a message they’ve been wanting to get out: August isn’t soon enough.
As Carr stood surrounded by people, wearing a black “Land of the Free” face mask, she said she was upset officials have used the excuse of COVID to delay the trial over the past several months as the county government has been able to reopen. She would like to see accountability, she said, “even though you know that is not justice.”
“Because justice would have been to announce yourself when you came out to check the (scene),” said Carr, whose eyes started to fill with tears and voice began to crack. “To give her time to put her hand down — that would’ve been justice. Not to go into my mom’s backyard — that would’ve been justice.”
She added that, “I don’t really know what justice is, but I know today we’re just demanding our date.”
As protesters made clear Tuesday morning, it has been almost 520 days since Jefferson died, a time in which there have been several more instances across the country of white officers killing Black citizens, from George Floyd to Breonna Taylor. The group emphasized it wanted to bring renewed focus to Jefferson.
Among those in attendance were two of Jefferson’s cousins and a nephew, as well as James Smith, the neighbor who called a non-emergency police number early on Oct. 12, 2019, when he noticed Jefferson’s doors were open. Zion and Jefferson were trying to let the cool breeze in as they played video games.
The event, shared on the Enough is Enough Facebook page, began in the dark at 7 a.m. outside the Carr family home on East Allen Avenue. The house has become the headquarters for the Atatiana Project, a nonprofit focused on spreading two of Jefferson’s loves — STEM education and video games — to the community.
People made signs and ate Chick-Fil-A breakfast sandwiches ahead of leaving as a group for the DA’s office.
Nysse Nelson, one of the main organizers, said Enough is Enough may not have picked the right spots to protest in the past, or chosen times in the evening when many people had left work. The idea of going to the DA’s office, located on East Belknap Street, was to bring their demands to those in power.
“I want to catch the people that work in the court system going into their job and so they can hear it,” Nelson said. “I want more face-to-face contact with the people that we’re trying to put pressure on.”
Cerese Fortson, one of Jefferson’s cousins, said the family has been suffering as they have waited for updates from the county. Amber said Zion continues to struggle with the trauma of the shooting, with certain things triggering memories.
Fortson said, “We need answers.”
“We need some kind of results,” she said. “And we need it now — not next year.”
She brought her son, Daleon, who, like Zion, is 9. The two young cousins stood outside of the DA’s office with the rest of the group calling for justice.
