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Fort Worth City Council to honor Atatiana Jefferson with 'Tay Day' proclamation

Two people hold a big black banner that says "We want justice!!! #sayhername Atatiana Jefferson." They stand on the street surrounded by other people marching in a parade, holding signs as well.
Miranda Suarez
/
KERA
James Smith, left, and Camilla Gallegos, right, hold a banner calling for justice for Atatiana Jefferson at the Tay Day Parade on Oct. 9, 2021.

The Fort Worth City Council on Tuesday will honor Atatiana Jefferson, a Black woman shot and killed in her home by a white Fort Worth police officer in 2019.

Council member Chris Nettles will present Jefferson’s family and friends with aproclamation marking Oct. 12 as Tay Day. Tay was Jefferson’s nickname, and the date marks two years since she was killed.

Aaron Dean, the officer who fatally shot Jefferson, is scheduled to stand trial for murder starting Nov. 16.

On Saturday, the nonprofit Atatiana Project threw the first Tay Day Parade in downtown Fort Worth. Step teams, car clubs and local activists wove through the streets, calling for justice for Jefferson.

Lee Merritt, a candidate for Texas attorney general and the lawyer representing Jefferson’s family, marched in the parade and said he wants to see Dean convicted.

“I don't think Aaron Dean should ever be free again,” Merritt said. “Atatiana will never be reunited with her family. They have to live with that loss. As long as they live with that loss, I think he should be behind bars.”

A woman hangs out of the passenger seat door of a shiny purple car. She's flexing and holding up a sign with Atatiana Jefferson's face on it.
Miranda Suarez
/
KERA
The Tay Day Parade on Oct. 9, 2021 brought in step teams, activists and car clubs to show support for Atatiana Jefferson.

Despite the recent high-profile conviction of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who murdered George Floyd, police rarely face convictions for on-duty shootings. Between 2005 and 2020, the year Floyd was murdered, only five non-federal officers were convicted of murder after on-duty shootings without later having their convictions overturned, according to an NPR report.

Merritt acknowledges that challenge. He also points to recent successful prosecutions, like the case of Amber Guyger. The former Dallas police officer, who is white, shot and killed Botham Jean, a Black man, after she walked into his Dallas apartment in 2018. An appeals court recently upheld her conviction.

“So that indicates to me, even beyond George Floyd, [that] the tide is beginning to turn, but we need to keep that up,” Merritt said.

Jefferson’s family members said they’re looking forward to getting some closure from the upcoming trial. Jefferson’s uncle, Cedric Carr, remembers her as a wonderful, down-to-earth person with dreams of going to medical school.

“It may have been two years and a long time ago,” Carr said, “but it still feels like yesterday.”

Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on Twitter @MirandaRSuarez.

KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.

Miranda Suarez is KERA’s Tarrant County accountability reporter. Before coming to North Texas, she was the Lee Ester News Fellow at Wisconsin Public Radio, where she covered statewide news from the capital city of Madison. Miranda is originally from Massachusetts and started her public radio career at WBUR in Boston.