New report says cop who killed Atatiana Jefferson wasn’t there for a welfare check

TEXAS- According to a new report coming from CNN, the police officer who fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson wasn’t there for a welfare check.

Jefferson’s neighbor called the police to have them do a welfare check on her, but officer Aaron Dean and his partner were sent to handle the call as if it was as a potential burglary.

Police Chief Ed Kraus told reporters on Tuesday “The information came from the neighbor to the call-takers and while it was relayed to the dispatch, it was determined to be an open structure call.”

To police, an “open structure call” consist of a potential crime like burglary.

According to Jefferson’s neighbor, James Smith, 62, said he called police to do a welfare check on her because her door was open and he feared for her safety.

Smith told the Fort Worth Star -Telegram “All they had to do was come and make sure that they were OK”, adding “What they did wrong was not follow the procedure that they have in place for the type of call that I called.”

Police were dispatched to Jefferson’s home on Tues, at around 2:30 a.m.. She was home babysitting her nephew.

Jefferson allegedly pulled her gun out when she heard a noise in her backyard.

I would have my gun out too, had I heard a noise in my backyard with a child in my home…