Black woman shot dead by Texas police through bedroom window
 

A black woman was shot dead by police through her own bedroom window in the early hours of Saturday morning, after a request to check on her welfare.

Atatiana Jefferson, 28, had been living at the residence in Fort Worth, Texas with her eight-year-old nephew.

A neighbour had called a non-emergency police number after growing concerned that her front door was open at night.

Police have released body cam footage of the incident, which shows an officer shooting within seconds of seeing her.

The clip shows police searching the perimeter of the residential property, before noticing a figure at the window. After demanding the person put their hands up, an officer then fired a shot through the glass.

The Fort Worth Police Department said in a statement that the officer, who is a white man, had "perceived a threat" when he drew his weapon.

He has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, officials added.

The shooting happened at about 02:30 local time (07:30 GMT) on Saturday morning.

Although it is edited, the body cam footage does not appear to show the officers identifying themselves as police.

It does not show footage from inside the property but includes images of a weapon that police say they found inside the bedroom.

It is unclear if Ms Jefferson was holding a weapon at the time, but firearm possession is legal for people aged over 18 in Texas.

Police said officers provided emergency medical care to Ms Jefferson at the scene, but she was declared dead at the property.

The 28-year-old had been playing video games with her nephew before she went to investigate the noise outside the window, according to a lawyer representing her family.

"Her mom had recently gotten very sick, so she was home taking care of the house and loving her life," lawyer Lee Merritt said on Facebook. "There was no reason for her to be murdered. None. We must have justice."

Ms Jefferson was a university graduate who was working in pharmaceutical equipment sales, he added.

The shooting comes less than two weeks after an off-duty police officer was jailed for shooting a black man, Bothan Jean, dead in his own Dallas apartment less than 35 miles (55km) from Saturday's incident.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke, himself from Texas, has spoken out about Ms Jefferson's death.

"As we mourn 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 posted on Twitter.

The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) labelled Ms Jefferson's death "unacceptable".

Neighbour James Smith, 62, said he had checked the property himself before calling police, but failed to spot movement inside.

"I'm shaken. I'm mad. I'm upset. And I feel it's partly my fault," Mr Smith told the Star Telegram newspaper about requesting the welfare check. "If I had never dialled the police department, she'd still be alive."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50032290

Someone's own front door was open so they went armed and shot someone inside?

What a ****ing bizarre country.

I should think so too ****ing idiot.

I guess they checked her welfare for good :facepalm:

That country is sick

She'd still be alive if she was white.

Mass shooters can be led away in cuffs but an unarmed black person will be shot to death where they stand 4 seconds after an instruction is issued out. Stories like this just enforce that you are not safe from the police if you are not white. The badge is rotting and every story like this furthers the decay. There needs to be an overhaul at a federal level of the police force, training methods need to be looked at as well as qualifications and aptitudes. They need to cut out this culture of cops protecting cops when they do wrong.

Every time this happens, it makes the job harder for the actual good officers and makes it impossible for them to be trusted. Something must be done.

Sounds like the person didn't put their hands up when they we're demanded to.

When an American Police man or woman asks you to cooperate, then you cooperate or face the consequences.

She was innocent :umm2:

They didn't identify as police ya silly thing

Seems more to this story. She was shot through her glass bedroom window? Seems very bizarre, I doubt she even heard the cop as it seems he wasn’t even in the property?

They also didn’t say they were police in the camera on top of that.

This is all very strange

I didn't say she wasn't. I said that you cooperate when asked to.

The article literally says they demanded her hands up and shot within seconds.

It takes less than seconds to put your hands up.

You just implied she isn’t because she didn’t cooperate with an officer? What kind of backwards thinking is this :bored:

They didnt identify themselves at police and shot less than a second after giving the instruction. She was in her own property so from her point of view could have been anyone.

They didnt identify as police. Do you take instructions off anyone whos giving them.

Come on Alf, this isnt you. Stop this

Not if you can't hear through a window or have just been woken up and have no idea what is going on.

You can't seriously tell me you approve of a police officer shooting seconds after making a command.

How dare she.... be inside her own home.

You see ... such is the conditioning in this country that you have blind faith in anyone who professes to be a figure of authority :/

It says that the officer perceived a threat when drawing his weapon.

It also says the video footage is edited.

A lot of these murderers pretend that there's an immediate threat to their own lives when they kill. It's a defense, not justification.

This woman's only crime is apparently existing as a black person.

No, that's what you want it to be. You don't even know the whole story, yet you've already convicted this officer basically for being born White.

You hear him take the gun out and prime it as soon as the clip starts.
He asks her to put her hands up and shoots her 1 second later, there was no time to raise her hands .
She had no idea the person creeping outside the window was a police officer.

If it is edited you would've thought they wouldve edited it to make the officer to look less like he murdered this woman...not more.

And you've suggested this innocent black woman deserved to die because she didn't do as she was told.

Why would they have edited it to make the copper look good, when there's a political campaign to strip citizens of their second ammendment? They want guns to be seen in a bad light.

No I haven't. Don't put words in my mouth on such a thing as this. I don't wish anybody dead.