For the past three years, James Smith has relived one date in particular time and time again.
“As I stand here, it’s like Oct. 12, 2019,” Smith said Wednesday. “It’s all on the internet, YouTube. Just like it’s a permanent fixture of those media outlets. It’s a permanent fixture in my mind.”
Wednesday marked three years since Atatiana Jefferson was shot and killed inside her mother’s Fort Worth home by a Fort Worth police officer. The home located on East Allen Avenue sits across the street from Smith’s home, where he has lived for more than six decades.
Smith recalled calling the Fort Worth police non-emergency line during the early morning hours of Oct. 12, 2019, because the front door to the home where Jefferson was babysitting her nephew had been left open overnight.
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Aaron Dean, who was an officer with the Fort Worth Police Department, responded. At the time, police said Jefferson thought Dean was an intruder and she grabbed a gun. Body camera video released showed Dean was in uniform, but he did not announce himself.
Jefferson was shot through the window. She was 28 years old.
“It’s something you’re not going to forget. You have to learn to live with it, which is not easy,” Smith said. “You think you got a grasp of it, but then the next day comes.”
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Three years since Jefferson’s death, there are markers placed in Fort Worth in her honor. A mural along Evans Avenue honors her life, and a stretch of roadway has been named the Atatiana Jefferson Memorial Parkway. The home Jefferson was shot in is frequently used for events through the nonprofit “The Atatiana Project,” which was started by her family in 2020.
Ashley Carr, Jefferson’s older sister, said the nonprofit exposes children to STEM -- Science, Technology, Engineering and Math -- in hopes of inspiring them to love science like Jefferson. The home was owned by the sisters’ late mother. Though no one lives there now, Carr said she started staying there when she visits North Texas.
“Someone was like, 'you’re not afraid?' Those are two people I love, so if they came, if I saw them, I wouldn’t run. I would want to run and hug,” Carr said. “We miss her every day, but we definitely felt her this weekend.”
Dean is expected to face trial in December, after a series of delays. Over the summer, his attorneys successfully argued their request of seeking a new judge. Pretrial hearings will begin on Nov. 16, jury selection will begin Nov. 28, after the Thanksgiving holiday, and the trial will begin on Monday, Dec. 5.
Amber Carr, another older sister of Jefferson, said the family is holding on to community support and each other as they approach the trial.
“Just us saying her name is keeping her alive. Keeping her alive in our hearts,” she said. “That’s what Tay would tell us. Everyone was going to know her name.”
NBC 5 reached out to attorneys representing Dean for comment. Because the case remains under a gag order, we were told they are unable to comment.
