*Atatiana Jefferson was playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew inside her Fort Worth, Texas, home when a police officer responding to a welfare call shot and killed her through a window. Nearly seven years later, the city’s financial reckoning over her death could reach $14.75 million.
Fort Worth has negotiated a proposed $11.25 million settlement with Jefferson’s family to resolve remaining civil claims stemming from her 2019 killing, WFAA reports.
But the deal isn’t final.
The Fort Worth City Council is scheduled to consider the agreement Aug. 25. If council members approve it, the settlement must also receive probate-court approval.
Two Settlements Could Total $14.75 Million
The latest agreement would come on top of $3.5 million Fort Worth approved in 2023 for Zion Carr, Jefferson’s nephew, who was inside the house when she was killed.
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Together, the settlements would bring the city’s payouts connected to Jefferson’s death to $14.75 million if the newest agreement receives final approval.
The proposed $11.25 million would resolve the remaining claims brought by Jefferson’s estate and relatives. Her two nephews would receive the largest portions of the settlement, with money designated for them held in trusts until they reach adulthood.
The financial resolution comes years after the criminal case against the officer responsible for Jefferson’s death reached its conclusion.
A Welfare Call Ended With Jefferson Dead
Jefferson, 28, was home with Zion in the early morning hours of Oct. 12, 2019, when a concerned neighbor noticed her doors were open and called a nonemergency police number.
Former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean responded to the residence.
Dean moved around the outside of the home and, after seeing Jefferson through a window, fired through the glass, fatally striking her. Police body-camera footage showed that he did not identify himself as an officer before firing.
Zion later testified at Dean’s criminal trial about what happened inside the home.
A jury convicted Dean of manslaughter in December 2022, rejecting the more serious murder charge prosecutors had pursued. He was sentenced to 11 years, 10 months and 12 days in prison.
Jefferson’s killing became another nationally watched case involving a Black person killed by police inside a home — a place where she should have been safe.
Fort Worth Was Still Paying for Dean’s Defense
The civil consequences continued long after Dean’s conviction.
In June, the Fort Worth City Council increased the amount authorized for Dean’s legal representation in the federal civil litigation from $100,000 to as much as $200,000.
The city’s decision to fund that representation was separate from the criminal case and was tied to its legal obligations concerning civil claims arising from an employee’s actions.
Now, less than two months later, Fort Worth has reached the proposed $11.25 million agreement that could finally resolve the remaining litigation surrounding Jefferson’s death.
That chronology underscores how long the legal aftermath has lasted: criminal accountability arrived in 2022, but the civil consequences have continued into 2026.
Her Name Remains Part of Fort Worth
Jefferson’s legacy in the city now extends beyond the courtroom.
Fort Worth renamed a community center in her honor, and the city has included rebuilding the Atatiana Carr Jefferson Community Center at Hillside in its 2026 bond program.
No settlement can restore what Jefferson’s family lost that October morning.
The numbers instead document the extraordinary consequences of what began with something painfully ordinary: a neighbor concerned about an open door asked police to check whether everything was OK.
A 28-year-old woman ended up dead inside her own home.
One officer went to prison. Years of litigation followed. Jefferson’s nephew, who witnessed the shooting as a child, became central to both the criminal case and its civil aftermath.
Now Fort Worth is approaching another potential endpoint.
If the City Council and probate court approve the latest agreement, the city’s settlements connected to Atatiana Jefferson’s killing will total nearly $15 million.
Seven years later, the financial cases may finally be nearing their end. The consequences of what happened inside Jefferson’s home are far more permanent.
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MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Ex-Texas Cop Sentenced to Nearly 12 Years in Prison for Killing Atatiana Jefferson | WATCH
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