Atatiana

Atatiana Jefferson

Atatiana Jefferson

shot her own house

In October 2019, police officers from Fort Worth, Texas, shot black Atatiana Jefferson, 28, in her own house. Her neighbor called a police and reported that her front door was opened.

The video, captured by the officer’s body camera, shows police officers searching the area around her house for several minutes with their flashlights on. One of the officers spotted Jefferson and started yelling for her to put her hands up. A moment later, the policeman pulled the trigger. The police officer did not identify himself and did not give her time to follow his instructions. Despite the fact that the officers tried to give the woman first aid, she died on the spot.

In May 2021, Jefferson’s relatives filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and the police department, alleging that the department didn’t check the officer who shot the woman before taking him on duty in 2017. The lawsuit seeks $10 million in damages.