Texas cop didn't say 'gun' before fatal shooting, search
A Texas police officer who fatally shot a Black woman through a rear window of her home three years ago didn’t say the woman was holding a gun before he pulled the trigger and never mentioned the weapon before searching the house, according to the officer who was with him that night.
Prominent lawyer Lee Merritt says he’ll challenge Ken Paxton in run for Texas attorney general
DALLAS – A prominent Dallas attorney who has represented the families of Black people killed by police officers says he is running for Texas attorney general. Lee Merritt announced over the weekend that he plans to challenge Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton after mentioning the idea during a protest Friday over a man's death in a suburban Dallas jail. “Texas deserves an attorney general that will fight for the constitutional rights of all citizens,” Merritt tweeted Saturday. People seeking to run for Texas attorney general cannot file candidacy papers for months, but the 2022 election has dawn early attention following new criminal allegations against Paxton. Paxton has denied any wrongdoing and said he'll seek reelection.
Family of Black woman shot through window sues Texas officer
FORT WORTH, Texas – Family members of a Black woman who was killed when a white police officer fired through a window of her mother’s Texas home have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the officer and the city. The suit names the city of Fort Worth and former officer Aaron Dean as defendants. A city spokeswoman said he could not comment because the city had not be served the lawsuit as of Monday. The Fort Worth police department said it was not able to comment on the lawsuit. “By their deliberate indifference, Defendants the City of Fort Worth Police Department implemented and encouraged policies, practices, and customs with deliberate indifference to the rights of citizens,” according to the lawsuit.
Ex-Texas officer’s trial set for next year in woman’s death
FORT WORTH, Texas – A judge in Texas has tentatively set an August trial date for a white former police officer charged with murder in the shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson, a Black woman who was fatally shot through a window. Judge David Hagerman on Tuesday said the scheduling may be fluid but that the case of former Fort Worth officer Aaron Dean “needs to be tried next year,” the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. Dean resigned after he was charged with murder in the Oct. 12, 2019, shooting death of Jefferson. Jefferson had been babysitting her 8-year-old nephew at her mother's home when a neighbor called a non-emergency police line to report that a door was ajar. At Tuesday’s pretrial proceedings, Hagerman said he would likely consider a motion to change the venue of the trial from Tarrant County, which is home to Fort Worth.