Fort Worth shooting: Officers weren't asked to do welfare check. Here's how it changed things

CNN ^ | OCT 17 2019 | Nicole Chavez

[Presbyterian Reporter]

Authorities are looking into what former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean and his partner were told before arriving to Jefferson's home. "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," Fort Worth interim Police Chief Ed Kraus told reporters on Tuesday. Experts say that classification escalated things beyond a welfare check, and meant the officers would respond differently. It could have been a burglary or other crime Many times a welfare check involves a medical emergency, an elderly person living alone or a relative who is difficult to get ahold of. For those calls, police officers usually knock on someone's door and wait for an answer. But the mindset of a police officer changes when they hear it's an "open structure" or "open door" call. Michael "Britt" London, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, said officers have a more cautious approach and run through multiple scenarios in their heads. They could be presented with a simple case of a door left unlocked, an abandoned home, or a burglary in progress. "You are at a higher sensitivity to what is going on with that house," London said. "You have to be ready for anything. You are taking more of your environment in consideration to be ready for a surprise if there's one." The first thing that comes to mind is often a burglary -- that's why officers search for signs of forced entry like a broken window or a damaged door. Body camera footage from that night shows Dean, 34, peering through two open doors and walking around the perimeter of the house. He then pointed his weapon at a window and yelled "Put your hands up! Show me your hands!"

[SERE_DOC]

Perhaps if he yelled “quit resisting “ or “get your hands out of my pocket”
He wouldn’t be in so much trouble.

[circlecity]

"Buck fever..."

Bingo. I think you hit the nail on the head.

[terycarl]

I predict the cop will plead to Manslaughter. 10 year sentence.

I hope he pleads guilty to NOTHING....have a trial!!!

[yesthatjallen]

“I’m not accusing the officer of murder but his actions put both the homeowner and the police officers’ lives in danger.”

So did hers.

The difference being, while the officer was aware of his actions (called to the house to check on the door left open for hours and searching the perimeter of the house) the home owner was completely oblivious to what was going on.

The officer had time to think about what he was doing. The homeowner had seconds to react to hearing a noise and seeing someone outside her window.

This is why I side with the homeowner.

She had no idea 'the good guys' were outside her home. She heard a noise and reacted.

The officer had a responsibility to identify himself.

How could she know, when she heard a noise, grabbed her gun, and turned toward the window, the person outside her window was a police officer? Would anyone who heard a noise outside there window stop to ask themselves, 'is that a criminal or a cop?'

The officer was the one who made mistakes. The homeowner was only reacting in self-defense to a perceived and unidentified threat.

[Penelope Dreadful]

What does race have to do with it??? Which race is it that usually attacks and shoots at cops???

Gee, what planet do you live on??? Even Pizza Delivery guys know that.

[skr]

I didn’t say anything about murder. Murder implies intent to kill someone. This seems more like a reckless manslaughter case to me. I doubt this officer intended to kill anyone when he answered the call.