T E X A S
MetroNews DELIVERING NEWS YOU NEED
• Vol. 10 • Dec. 22 - Dec. 28, 2022
MY TRUTH By Cheryl Smith
WWW.TEXASMETRONEWS.COM
Dean Sentenced in Jefferson killing! Jury gives former police officer more than 11 years
PUBLISHER
Thanks to you! A little over a week to go in this year and we can call 2022 Black History. What a year! Some are ready to call it quits and move on. But, do we really know what we are moving on to? For me, I’d rather just take each day as it comes.
By Arise Rejoice News Service A Fort Worth jury on Wednesday afternoon sentenced former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean to 11 years, 10 months and 12 days in prison for the fatal killing of Atatiana Jefferson. Dean, who resigned from the Fort Worth police department shortly after the shooting, was the first police officer in the history of Tarrant County to be sentenced to prison for killing someone while on duty. Last Wednesday a jury found him guilty in the October, 2019 shooting which fractured the community of Fort Worth. The sentencing phase of the trial began on Friday. The prosecution, members of Jefferson’s family, and those
Atatiana Jefferson
close to them, wanted Dean found guilty of murder rather than manslaughter. The manslaughter charge allows a maximum prison sentence of 20 years in Texas. It even allows for supervised probation. Once found guilty, Dean was
A football legend has passed By Arise Rejoice News Service Admittedly the past almost three years have been like none other, making me rethink how I feel about so many people, places and things. If there was ever anything in my lifetime that has been a catalyst for moving me to a point of self actualization quickly, it has to be the pandemic. While I have talked about majoring in the minors, now I really am unapologetically trying to live my best life and that calls for letting some people and things go, or not letting them in your space. I have said time and time again that growing up a Black woman in America has kept me in a constant state of action, activism and pandemonium; however, COVID-19 was no joke and it has taken a lot of work for me to see it through! See MY TRUTH, page 13
Franco Harris, who led the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl victories, has died at the age of 72. His death was announced by his son, also named Franco. Harris, who played college football at Penn State University, was an all-star for nine of the 13 years that he played professional football. Beloved by teammates and fans, Harris was the heart of the Steelers team that won Super Bowls in 1974, 1975, 1978 and 1979. Some of his teammates included broadcaster Terry Bradshaw, former North Texas University standout Joe Greene, Jack Ham, L.C. Greenwood and Lynn Swann. Harris was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. When he retired in 1984 he was the third leading rusher in the history of the league behind only Jim Brown and Walter Payton. Harris was drafted in the first round by the Steelers in 1972. He had an immediate impact on the team, and was named ‘Rookie of the Year’ in the NFL. When asked to describe Harris as a football player, Bradshaw said that he was a “Rolls Royce.” The mayor of Pittsburgh, Ed Gainey, said
arrested. He had been free on bail since the killing three years ago. Dean’s lawyers asked for probation while a lawyer for the prosecution asked for the mandatory sentence of 20 years. Prosecutors were not pleased with the manslaughter verdict, saying that the real victims of Dean’s actions were Ms. Jefferson and her family. During the punishment stage of the trial a psychologist, Dr. Kyle Clanton, said that Dean should never have been hired as a police officer. Dean had narcissistic tendencies, he told the jurors. Dean’s attorney said that sending Dean to prison would be counterproductive and that it would have a negative impact
Texas Metro News
that Harris was always ready to assist people and causes in the city. A statute of Harris is located at the entrance of the Pittsburg airport. It depicts one of his most famous football plays, known as the “Immaculate Reception.” In addition to his son, Harris, a native of New Jersey, is survived by his wife, Dana. He used hiscollege degree in Food Service and Administration from Penn State and started multiple companies including Super Bakery and Eco Product Group LLC. The Steelers were planning to honor Harris at halftime during their game on Saturday. “We have lost an incredible football player who was one of the finest gentlemen anyone will ever meet,” said Jim Porter, the president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
on members of the police force. He called Dean a very good man who found himself in a very difficult situation. Dean’s mother said that he became a police officer because he wanted to help people. See DEAN SENTENCED, Page 13
Reaction to Dean Trial Painful for Many Blacks By Valerie Fields Hill
Franco Harris
Aaron Dean
For some African American parents and professionals, the trial of former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean was too much - excessive news coverage, an outpouring of gory details and lengthy deliberations over sentencing. So, they ignored the real-life drama played out this week in a Fort Worth courtroom: They refused to read online news accounts and skipped television coverage of the trial and subsequent sentencing. “I heard about it,” said Zyshonne Harris, 23, a Fort Worth high school teacher and graduate student. “But it’s like opening up wounds.” Harris is among a score of Black professionals who said they paid little attention to the sentencing of Dean, and for that matter, any recent high-profile
case involving the killing of African American citizens. The choice to do so, they said, is now commonplace amongst themselves and their peers: Such cases are just too emotionally taxing to watch. “We all have that feeling that nothing is going to happen,” said Harris, who teaches commercial photography at an Uplift public charter school. “They’re just going to get a slap on the wrist.” Tuesday, Tarrant County jurors handed Dean, who had worked just a few years as a Fort Worth police officer, a sentence of 11 years, 10 months and 12 days for fatally shooting Atatiana Jefferson, 28, a graduate of the prestigious historically Black college Xavier University of Louisiana, who was planning to go to medical school. Dean shot and killed Jefferson October 12, 2019, while she was in the bedroom of her Fort See REACTION TO DEAN, Page 6