The white Fort Worth police officer who’s on administrative leave after shooting and killing a black woman inside her home during the weekend is set to be interviewed by investigators Monday, as politicians and community members have begun raising concerns about the tragic use of force.
Atatiana Jefferson, 28, was gunned down early Saturday by an officer who’d been summoned to her Fort Worth home to conduct a welfare check by a neighbor who reported seeing Jefferson’s front door open. Bodycam footage released by police shows two officers canvassing the property before one shouts “put your hands up, show me your hands” and fires through a window.
“It seems like this police officer made a very quick judgment to shoot her through this window and that makes absolutely no sense at all,” Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Sunday night during a candlelight vigil at Jefferson’s home, which reportedly was attended by hundreds.
“Our welfare check turned into a death, and that should never have happened,” Fort Worth City Councilwoman Kelly Allen Gray also said to the newspaper. “Our people, our citizens who call the police, should know the police are going to come and answer their cares and concerns in a way that does not result in a tragedy.”
NEIGHBOR WHO CALLED 911 ABOUT JEFFERSON’S HOME SAYS ‘ALL THEY NEEDED TO DO IS RING THE DOORBELL’
Fort Worth police said in a statement that, after “perceiving a threat, the officer drew his duty weapon and fired one shot, striking the person inside the residence.” Officers then entered the house and located an individual and a firearm, and began performing emergency medical care.
The department released bodycam footage of the incident “to provide transparent and relevant information to the public as we are allowed within the confines of the” investigation, it stated. Any video taken inside the house could not be distributed due to state law.
However, the bodycam video released to media included blurred still frames showing a gun inside a bedroom at the home, the Associated Press reported. It’s unclear if the firearm was found near Jefferson, and police have not said that the officer who shot her thought she had a gun.
Police Lt. Brandon O’Neil said Sunday afternoon that the officer, who’s been on the force since April 2018, is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation and was set to be interviewed about the fatal shooting on Monday. His name was not released.
At a brief news conference at police headquarters, O’Neil confirmed that the officer did not announce he was a police officer before he fired the fatal shot and that the failure to do so is part of the department’s investigation.
AMBER GUYGER SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN SHOOTING THAT KILLED BOTHAM JEAN IN DALLAS
O’Neil also said Jefferson’s 8-year-old nephew was in the room with Jefferson when she was shot. He said representatives of the police department have spoken with the woman’s family and “shared our serious and heartfelt concern for this unspeakable loss.” Jefferson’s family members have said she was watching her nephew at the time.
O’Neil declined to answer reporters’ questions and said Fort Worth Police Chief Ed Kraus plans to conduct a more in-depth news conference later Monday.
Mayor Betsy Price also told reporters last night at the candlelight vigil that the city will be bringing in an outside agency to help conduct the investigation, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The Fort Worth Police Officers Association, in a statement released to media, says it is “urging the Fort Worth police department to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation, and through that investigation, we hope to gain clarity and understanding of what exactly transpired.”
“Police officers take an oath to protect and serve all citizens in our great city and it is every officers’ worst fear to use deadly force in the line of duty,” it added. “We are thankful for our community leaders who seek to unite during times of grief instead of divide and we hope that collaboration and peace will help guide us forward.”
Jefferson was a 2014 graduate of Xavier University in New Orleans and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology, the university said.
“Our prayers and thoughts are with her family and friends as we gather as a community in prayer,” President Reynold Verret said in a letter to the Xavier community. “As we wait for details of this incident to unfold, let us cling to our mission of justice and humanity and seek answers to this tragedy.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Her sister, Amber Carr, described the shooting as “another one of those situations where the people that are supposed to protect us are actually not here to protect us.”
“You know, you want to see justice,” she told KXAS, “but justice don’t bring my sister back.”
Fox News’ Melissa Leon and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
