The trial’s opening statements are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Monday.
FORT WORTH, Texas — A jury of eight men and six women has been selected for the trial of former Fort Worth officer Aaron Dean, who is charged with murder in the 2019 shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson.
No Black jurors were selected for the case, which in 2019 sparked protests from the Black community over the killing of Jefferson, a Black woman.
A majority of the selected are white; several jurors are people of color, though none are Black.
Twelve jurors will sit for the trial, with two selected as alternates.
Opening statements in the trial are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Monday.
The jurors were selected from a final pool of about 40 people who were brought back to jury selection Friday morning. Among those potential jurors, less than five were Black.
The final day of jury selection followed a week of questionnaires and voir dire.
Judge George Gallagher started Thursday by talking to the potential jurors about their responsibility to be fair and impartial and what their duty will be once they take an oath to serve on the jury.
“We need you to be open and honest with us today. There are no right or wrong answers. We need 12 impartial jurors and two alternates who can come in with no preconceived notions,” said Gallagher.
Aaron Dean is accused of shooting Atatiana Jefferson in October 2019 in her home. Jefferson’s neighbor, James Smith, called a non-emergency number to check on Jefferson’s home after he saw an open door.
Dean and his partner responded and went around the back of the home. Dean shot Jefferson within seconds after she peered out the window to see who was in her backyard and was holding a gun. Police have said Dean never announced himself as an officer.
During jury selection this week, prosecutors allowed prospective jurors to ask questions and talk about how they felt about law enforcement.
Several jurors stood up and said they could not be impartial and were biased toward Dean because he is a police officer.
“I am sick and tired about the way police officers are treated and how they do their jobs,” one juror said. “You could present your case but I am not going to be unbiased. I couldn’t convict any law enforcement of murder while involved in a shooting because they are doing their jobs and trying to come home to their families.”
One potential juror served 32 years as an officer in Tarrant County and said, “You will have an uphill battle convincing me that 10 seconds you can get into his mind and see what he saw and heard.”