Atatiana Jefferson’s family reaches $11.25M settlement with Fort Worth seven years after she was killed by a police officer

The agreement comes after a jury convicted former officer Aaron Dean in Jefferson’s 2019 killing.

Seven years after she was shot and killed by a police officer in her suburban Fort Worth home, the family of Atatiana Jefferson has settled with the city of Fort Worth.

The city is prepared to pay $11.25 million for Jefferson’s death; the Fort Worth City Council is set to meet on the settlement on August 25, which would then have to go to a probate court before becoming final.

In total, the city will have agreed to pay $14.75 million to Jefferson’s family. The city approved $3.5 million to be paid to Zion Carr, Jefferson’s nephew, who was with her the night she was shot and killed by former officer Aaron Dean in October 2019. A large portion of the new settlement will be divided into trust funds for Carr, another nephew and other family members.

“Atatiana Jefferson’s family and loved ones have suffered a profound and unimaginable loss,” Mayor Mattie Parker said in a statement. “While no settlement can undo the devastating impact of this tragedy, we hope this agreement offers a meaningful measure of closure and allows everyone to move forward.”

After a neighbor called a non-emergency line on October 12, Dean responded to the scene and went into the backyard of the home Jefferson was in. Jefferson was in the bathroom with a gun after hearing rustling in the backyard. Dean yelled at her, asking her to put her hands up before firing a single shot, killing Jefferson.

Although Dean’s legal team argued that he responded to the call because it looked like a crime had been committed at the home, it was revealed during the trial that Jefferson and Carr had opened the door because they had burned hamburgers in the residence. Dean was originally charged with murder, but a jury convicted him of the lesser charge of manslaughter in 2022. He was sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison.

Dean attempted to have his appeal heard by the Supreme Court in 2024, but it was denied.

Jefferson’s family originally filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Fort Worth in 2020. With the settlement announced, Jefferson’s sister, Ashley Carr, says the settlement may bring the legal portion of the case to a close, but “nothing” will bring her sister back.

“This case represents a rare instance in which a family has received accountability both criminally and civilly following the killing of their loved one by a police officer,” she said. “While we are grateful that Atatiana’s case resulted in both criminal and civil accountability, neither a conviction nor a financial settlement can restore what was taken from our family. Nothing can bring Atatiana home.”