Nov. 2024. Blues Vol 40 No. 11

SUPREME COURT REJECTS

SUPREME COURT REJECTS APPEAL FROM TEXAS OFFICER CONVICTED IN FATAL SHOOT- ING OF WOMAN THROUGH HER WINDOW By Lindsay Whitehurst Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court won’t hear an appeal from a former Texas police officer convicted in the death of a woman who was shot through a window of her home. Aaron Dean was convicted of manslaughter in Atatiana Jefferson’s fatal shooting, and he was sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison. Dean was originally charged with murder. He argued on appeal that prosecutors should not have been allowed to ask the jury to consider the lesser charge at the end of the trial. Dean shot Jefferson, a 28-year-old woman, on Oct. 12, 2019, after a neighbor called a nonemergency police line to report that the front door to Jefferson’s home was open. It later emerged that Jefferson and her nephew had left the doors open to vent smoke after he had burned hamburgers, and the two were up late playing video games. Dean’s guilty verdict was a rare conviction of an officer for killing someone who was also armed with a gun. Body camera footage showed that Dean and a second officer who responded to the call did not identify themselves as police at the house. Dean and the other officer testified that they thought the house might have been burglarized and they quietly moved into the fenced-off backyard looking for signs of forced entry. There, Dean, whose gun was drawn, fired a single shot through the window a moment after shouting at Jefferson, who was inside, to show her hands. Jefferson’ nephew testified that she took out her gun because she believed there was an intruder in the backyard. MARYLAND SHERIFF WILL USE ‘SURPRISE’ GRANT FUNDS TO HIRE NEW DEPUTIES By Teresa McMinn, Cumberland Times-News, Md. CUMBERLAND, MD. — The Allegany County Sheriff’s Office plans to hire two new deputies with money that wasn’t expected. While Sheriff Craig Robertson said his department was denied some federal grant money it applied for, he had “good news.” Allegany County grant writer Tanya Gomer reworked an application for a State Aid for Police Protection Fund grant, Robertson said, and added the county typically gets about 0,000 annually from the program. This year, he budgeted about 0,000 in anticipation of the state allocation. “Gomer revamped the formula for that this year (and) we now find out that Allegany County is going to receive 0,000 instead,” Robertson said. “She had kind of taken this on, on her own, and I was relatively surprised when I got the letter back from the state.” Robertson asked the county to amend his department’s budget for the additional 0,000 that will be applied toward the two deputy positions. He estimated 5,000 will cover costs including salaries, benefits, uniforms, equipment and technology for two sworn law enforcement officers, and said he wants to fill the positions with “lateral transfers from other agencies.” County commissioners Thursday approved Robertson’s request. Commissioner Bill Atkinson commended Gomer for securing the additional money. POLICE VIDEO SHOWS MAN FIRING AT OFFICERS AFTER PURSUIT THROUGH CHICAGO’S WEST SUBURBS AURORA, IL. (CBS) -- Plano, Illinois police on Friday released 62 The Blues - November ‘24

odycam and dashcam video of a pursuit and an exchange of gunfire with officers that left a man dead last week. At 6:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, Kendall County Sheriff’s deputies were called to assist Plano police officers after a report of a home invasion in the 3800 block of Pratt Court in Plano. Upon arriving, Plano officers saw a green Ford Bronco Sport pulling out of the garage at the house where the home invasion had been reported. The officer, with his gun drawn, is heard in the body cam video ordering the driver to stop. But the driver does not stop, instead running haphazardly over lawns as he hits the road. The next video clip shows a pursuit along U.S. Route 34, or Ogden Avenue, through Yorkville and Oswego and finally into Aurora. Meanwhile, police learned a man identified as Russell Novak, 70, was found back in the house in Plano with multiple gunshot wounds—and died as a result of his injuries. Police determined the suspect they were pursuing may be armed and dangerous. Upon reaching Eola Road in Aurora, the Ford Bronco turned to head south—and then made a U-turn at Keating Drive to head back toward Route 34. At that point, the Bronco entered the left turn lane, police said. In the left turn lane, the driver is seen on dashcam video getting out of the car with a long gun raised. The driver fires at officers, and the officers fire back as the driver falls to the ground. Police said a Plano officer and a Kendall County Sheriff’s deputy fired at the driver and struck him. Officers rendered aid to the driver shortly afterward. The incident happened in the DuPage County section of Aurora, and thus, findings from an investigation by Illinois State Police will be reviewed by the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s office, Plano police said. MAN STABS CONN. TROOP- ER IN NECK IN ALLEGED ‘AT- TEMPTED ASSASSINATION By Brian Niemietz New York Daily News WATERBURY, CT. — Connecticut State Police released video of a bloody attack on a trooper that resulted in him being hospitalized and a suspect arrested. Bodycam footage shot by Trooper Tim Wright shows the lawman attempting to arrest a 31-year-old Tyler Wilmot during a traffic stop that escalates quickly. After calling for backup, Wright gets out of his cruiser to confront Wilmot, who’s already exited his black truck and is warning “Don’t come near me.” The trooper says “What do you mean ‘don’t come near me’” and grabs the suspect’s arm. A CLICK TO WATCH scuffle immediately ensues as a woman in the background urges Wilmot not to engage Wright. Roughly 10 seconds after the conflict begins, Wright drops to his hands and knees and his body camera shows a considerable amount of blood on the street beneath him. His backup, Trooper John Covello, then appears as Wilmot tries to escape on foot. “I don’t know if he stabbed me or what he did,” a bleeding Wright tells Covello. Covello gives chase and brings down the suspect with a taser while Wright gets on his radio. Gurgling, spitting and bleeding, the injured officer requests help. “Send me an ambulance for me,” Wright tells dispatchers. Covello’s bodycam shows the suspect claiming he’s the victim as his hands are cuffed behind his back. “He attacked me!” Wilmot insists repeatedly after being neutralized. A still image from the footage shows what appears to be a knife in Wilmot’s right hand before he was subdued. The Blues - November ‘24 63