Fort Worth City Council members voted again to authorize another $100,000 in legal fees to the appellate lawyers representing former police officer Aaron Dean, convicted in 2022 of manslaughter in his on-duty shooting of Atatiana Jefferson.
The council voted unanimously on Tuesday to reconsider their June 23 vote approving the raise in legal fees, after council member Chris Nettles said after that meeting he mistakenly voted in favor. Council members this time voted 7-4 to approve the original motion.
Nettles told his council colleagues Tuesday he understood Fort Worth’s statutory obligation to pay for Dean’s legal fees but said the Texas Legislature should consider changing the relevant law.
“When someone does something outside the course of action and murders someone, we should not be paying their legal fees,” Nettles said.
Nettles and council members Jeanette Martinez, Deborah Peoples and Mayor Pro Tem Carlos Flores voted against the additional legal fees to Kenneth East, representing Dean in his appeals. The motion approved up to $200,000 in legal fees; the city had previously approved up to $100,000.
Martinez said she also understood the city’s obligations. But since the June 23 vote and Nettles’ subsequent request that the council reopen the vote so he could vote “no,” Martinez said, “I’ve since reflected a lot on that vote and upholding my commitment to social justice.”
Peoples was the only “no” vote on the motion to approve the June 23 agenda item.
Scott Nishimura is senior editor for local government accountability and a Fort Worth City Hall reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Reach him at scott.nishimura@fortworthreport.org.
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