Officer Charged With Murder Of African-American Woman In Her Own Home

A US police officer who shot dead an African-American woman, Atatiana Jefferson, in her bedroom on Saturday has been held and charged with murder.

Police in Forth Worth, Texas, wrote on Twitter that Aaron Dean was being held in the Tarrant County jail. On Monday police chief Ed Kraus told reporters Mr Dean had resigned from the force.

Ms. Jefferson was killed after police responded to a non-emergency call from a neighbour.

Body cam footage shows the officer shooting within seconds of seeing her.

In its initial statement, the Fort Worth Police Department said the officer had “perceived a threat” when he drew his weapon.

Had Mr Dean not resigned, Police Chief Kraus said: “I would have fired him for violations of several policies including our use of force policy, our de-escalation policy and unprofessional conduct.”

Earlier Ms Jefferson’s sister, Ashley Carr, said she had been “killed by a reckless act” and called for a federal investigation.

Lee Merritt, a civil rights lawyer who is representing the family, said: “The investigation should be handled by someone other than the Fort Worth Police Department.”

He added that the department “is on track to be one of the deadliest police departments in the United States”.

Accurate data on police shootings is difficult to obtain since local police forces are not obliged to provide figures.

According to a database compiled by the Washington Post, 709 people have been killed by law enforcement officials so far this year and about 20% of victims were black. Texas had the second-highest number of total deaths.