The family Atatiana Jefferson’s family is suing the city of Fort Worth, Texas and the former police officer charged with her murder.
Jefferson, 28, was shot in her home last year while playing video games with her nephew.
The suit was filed by Jefferson’s father, Jerome Eschor, her aunt Venitta Body and Arita Eschor. The lawsuit was filed in federal district court last week.
The complaint accuses the city and the former officer of being “deliberately indifferent to protecting Atatiana Carr a/k/a Atatiana Jefferson from harm by systematically failing to provide adequate training and supervision to its officers, uphold Atatiana Carr a/k/a Atatiana Jefferson’s constitutional rights, and providing urgently needed medical care.
“Defendants acted with high disregard for the rights of others, and their conduct was extreme and unreasonable under the circumstances,” it reads.
Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office indicted former officer Aaron Dean, 35, in the shooting death of Jefferson.
Officers showed up at Jefferson’s house around 2:25 a.m. after a concerned neighbor noticed her doors were open in the middle of the night. The neighbor told authorities that he was worried because he was aware that Jefferson was at home with her 8-year-old nephew. Fifteen minutes after he placed the call, he said that officers charged into Jefferson’s home.
Upon entering, Dean claimed he saw a figure through a dark window and moves his body to the left. He then shouts through the window with his gun drawn before firing a single shot through the window into the dark room.
