A black the woman died when a police officer shot her through the window of her bedroom on
Saturday morning, after a neighbor requested an inspection to make sure it was
okay.
Atatiana
Jefferson, 28, was in residence in the city of Fort Worth with her 8-year-old
nephew.
A neighbor said he had called a non-emergency line after being worried when he saw
a door that was open at dawn.
The
police have published the video of the body camera of one of the agents in an incident that only lasts a few seconds.
The
sequence shows police officers circling the perimeter of the residence and
detecting a figure in the window. After demanding that the person put their
hands up, one of the uniformed shot through the glass.
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He has
been discharged administratively while conducting an investigation, authorities
added.
The shooting occurred at about 2:30 am, Saturday morning.
Although
the video of the body camera is edited, the images do not seem to show agents
identifying themselves as police officers.
Nor do
you see images of the interior of the property, although you do take a weapon
that police say they have found inside the bedroom.
It's
unclear if Jefferson was holding the gun at the time, but gun ownership is legal
for those over 18 in Texas.
Police say they have given emergency relief to Jefferson at the scene, but she was pronounced dead at the site.
Police say they have given emergency relief to Jefferson at the scene, but she was pronounced dead at the site.
"Playing videogames"
The
victim had been playing video games with her nephew before going to investigate
a noise outside her window, according to a lawyer representing the family.
"Her
mother had just been very sick, so she had returned to the house and enjoyed
her life," said lawyer Lee Merritt on Facebook. "There was no reason
for her to be killed. None. We must have justice".
Jefferson
was a graduate of the university who worked in pharmaceutical equipment sales,
she added.
The
incident happens less than two weeks after a Dallas police officer was jailed
for shooting dead, when he was out of service, a black man, Botham Jean, in his
own apartment.
Democratic
presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke, who is from Texas, addressed the death of Atatiana Jefferson.
"While
we grieve with Atatiana's loved ones, we must demand accountability and promise
to fight until no family has to face a tragedy like this again," he wrote
on Twitter.
The
National Association for the Promotion of People of Color (NAACP) called Jefferson's
death "unacceptable."
"If
we cannot be sure when we call the police, if we are not safe in our own homes,
where can we find peace? We demand answers, we demand justice," the
NAACP wrote on Twitter.
James
Smith, the 62-year-old neighbor, said he had checked the property before
calling the police, but had not seen movement inside the house.
"I
am disturbed, I am furious, I am upset. And I feel that it is partly my
fault," he told the Star-Telegram newspaper about his request for an
inspection round. "If I had never called the police department, she would
still be alive".
SOURCE: BBC
