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Trial for former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean scheduled for December after multiple delays

Aaron Dean strides out of a courtroom, wearing a black suit and a black tie. He does not look at the camera.
Miranda Suarez
/
KERA
Aaron Dean is a former Fort Worth police officer who is charged with murder in the on-duty killing of Atatiana Jefferson. His trial, delayed multiple times, is now scheduled for December.

Aaron Dean, a former Fort Worth police officer, is now set to go on trial for murder in December, more than three years after the on-duty killing of Atatiana Jefferson in October 2019.

Dean was scheduled to go on trial in January. Then May. Then June. The multiple delays came for multiple reasons, ranging from scheduling conflicts to, most recently, a successful battle to kick the original judge off the case.

Jury selection is now set to begin on Nov. 28, with the trial to begin on Dec. 5, according to court documents filed Thursday morning.

Dean has been charged with murder for shooting and killing Jefferson through the window of her Southside home, never identifying himself as an officer, body camera footage shows. Jefferson’s neighbor had called a non-emergency line to request a welfare check, because the door of Jefferson’s home was open.

Jefferson has become a prominent local example on the long list of Black Americans killed by police in recent years. Her name often came up during the 2020 George Floyd protests in Fort Worth, and her family and supporters have worked to keep her memory alive with protests and parades.

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 an award-winning reporter who started at KERA News in 2020. Before joining “NTX Now,” she covered Tarrant County government, with a focus on deaths in the local jail. Her work drives discussion at local government meetings and has led to real-world change — like the closure of a West Texas private prison that violated the state’s safety standards. A Massachusetts native, Miranda got her start in journalism at WTBU, Boston University’s student radio station. She later worked at WBUR as a business desk fellow, and while reporting for Boston 25 News, she received a New England Emmy nomination for her investigation into mental‑health counseling services at Massachusetts colleges and universities.