Nearly seven years after Atatiana Jefferson was fatally shot inside her Fort Worth home, city leaders have approved an $11.25 million settlement for her family. The Fort Worth City Council voted unanimously on August 25 to authorize the agreement. The Atatiana Jefferson settlement resolves civil claims against the city connected to her death, though the agreement still requires approval from probate court before it becomes final, according to ABC News.
Under the agreement, Jefferson’s two minor nephews will have their portions of the settlement placed into trusts until they turn 18. Other portions will be divided among surviving relatives. Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker addressed the family’s loss when the proposed agreement was announced earlier in August. Atatiana Jefferson’s family and loved ones have suffered a profound and unimaginable loss,” Parker said in a statement on August 14. “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.
Jefferson’s sister, Ashley Carr, also described the Atatiana Jefferson settlement as part of a broader effort to secure accountability through both the criminal and civil court systems. In a statement provided to ABC News, Carr said, “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 added, “We recognize how uncommon it is for families impacted by police violence to receive accountability on both fronts, and we do not take that for granted.”
The case began in the early morning hours of October 12, 2019. According to a 2025 opinion from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Fort Worth police received a call at about 2:25 a.m. from a neighbor who was concerned because Jefferson’s front door was open. The court described the report as an open structure call. Dean and another officer arrived minutes later and walked around the property looking for signs of a possible break-in. The opinion states that the officers did not activate emergency lights or sirens and that Dean had not announced himself as an officer before confronting Jefferson at a window.
Jefferson, who was 28, was inside with her young nephew and had been playing video games with him, according to ABC News. The outlet reported that Jefferson believed the person outside could be a burglar because Dean had not identified himself as police. Jefferson retrieved her gun and approached the window. Dean then fired through the glass, striking and killing her. He resigned from the Fort Worth Police Department shortly after the shooting. The events surrounding that night would become central to both Dean’s criminal prosecution and the civil litigation that eventually produced the Atatiana Jefferson settlement.
During Dean’s criminal trial, his attorneys argued that he saw Jefferson with a gun and believed he was facing deadly force, according to ABC News. Dean testified in his own defense and acknowledged that his conduct amounted to “bad police work.” A Tarrant County jury ultimately rejected the murder charge but convicted Dean of the lesser offense of manslaughter on December 15, 2022. Five days later, he was sentenced to 11 years, 10 months and 12 days in prison.
After the sentencing, Carr made the family’s position unmistakable in her victim impact statement. According to ABC News, she told the court, “My sister did not do anything wrong. She was in her home,” before adding, “She was murdered.” Dean had pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys continued challenging the conviction after trial.
Those challenges were unsuccessful. KERA News reported that a Texas appeals court upheld Dean’s manslaughter conviction in February 2024 and that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declined to review the case that May. The Associated Press reported that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Dean’s appeal in October 2024, leaving the criminal conviction in place.
The civil fight followed a separate path. Jefferson’s estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit in May 2021 against Fort Worth and police. Dean later sought qualified immunity from claims against him, but the Fifth Circuit ruled in February 2025 that the estate’s excessive force claim could continue. According to the court’s opinion, the appeals panel affirmed the lower court’s refusal to grant Dean qualified immunity on that claim while reversing the ruling involving a separate unreasonable search claim. That decision kept a significant portion of the federal case alive as settlement negotiations continued.
The new Atatiana Jefferson settlement is also separate from an earlier agreement involving her nephew Zion Carr, who witnessed the shooting. The city approved a $3.5 million settlement for Zion in November 2023. The agreement included money placed in trust for his living expenses, educational funding, and payments extending into adulthood.
Now, the $11.25 million settlement brings another major portion of the family’s civil litigation toward a conclusion. The city says the agreement resolves all civil claims against Fort Worth connected to Jefferson’s death. With the council’s unanimous approval complete, probate court approval remains the final step before the settlement can be finalized.
