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The Fort Worth City Council unanimously approved a $3.5 million settlement for the nephew of Atatiana Jefferson, who witnessed a Fort Worth police officer fatally shoot his aunt at their family home in 2019.
The council voted in favor of the settlement Tuesday morning — what would have been Jefferson’s 33rd birthday, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
At the time of the shooting, Jefferson was playing video games with her then-8-year-old nephew, Zion Carr. A concerned neighbor called a nonemergency police line because the home’s exterior doors were open and lights were on inside. Jefferson and her nephew had opened the doors to air out smoke after burning hamburgers, according to testimony at last year’s criminal trial.
Former Officer Aaron Dean responded to the house, saw 28-year-old Jefferson through the back window and shot her once, killing her.
The payment stems from a lawsuit filed on behalf of Zion, who has suffered mental and emotional distress, anxiety, terror and agony following the shooting, the suit says. A second lawsuit filed on behalf of Jefferson’s estate is pending.
The money will give Zion a lump sum for immediate needs and living expenses, while also establishing a college savings plan that he can still collect if he chooses not to attend college, the city previously said in a news release announcing the proposed settlement.
Remaining funds will be placed in an annuity, with payments going to Zion until the age of 40. Attorney fees will be deducted.
The approval of the settlement is not an admission of the city’s liability, according to a City Council memo. Because Zion is a minor, the federal judge overseeing the lawsuit still has to sign off on the settlement, according to the Star-Telegram.
Jefferson, an aspiring doctor raised in Dallas’ Oak Cliff neighborhood, moved into the Fort Worth home to care for her ailing mother and Zion, whose mother, Amber Carr, was also in poor health. Amber Carr died this year at age 33.