Over the weekend, a white Fort Worth police officer, Aaron Dean, shot and killed a black woman, Atatiana Jefferson, inside of her home. On Monday (Oct. 14), Dean was charged with murder.
According to NBC News, York was arrested a few hours after Dean’s resignation from the police force earlier on Monday. Dean had been on the force since April of 2018. As previously reported, James Smith called a non-emergency police number to report that doors to a home were opened, which he believed to be unusual.
In addition to that, Smith reported that he heard a loud bang from inside the home. After arriving at the scene, Dean appeared to have seen a figure through the window and yelled, “Put your hands up! Show me your hands!” Shortly after, Dean fired a single shot, which ultimately killed Jefferson.
Understandably, many on social media have shared their disfavor regarding the situation. “The news from Fort Worth is heartbreaking. Atatiana Jefferson should still be alive today. We cannot allow this to keep happening, we must reform our policing practices and hold officers accountable for their actions,” Joe Biden wrote on Twitter.
Another user added, “Before you call the police, where Black people are involved, you should ask yourself if a gun is actually necessary to address whatever problem you’re trying to solve. Because that’s the tool they’re going to use. # AtatianaJefferson.”
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that a police officer has harmed someone in their own home. Earlier this month, Amber Guyger was sentenced to 10 years after fatally shooting Botham Jean inside his Dallas apartment. Following her ruling, Guyger expressed regret over the situation.
“I hate that I have to live with this every single day of my life,” Guyger said on Friday (Sept. 27). “I ask God for forgiveness, and I hate myself every single day. I wish he was the one with the gun who had killed me. I never wanted to take an innocent person’s life.”