#SayHerName  Ms. Tatiana Koquice Jefferson October 15, 2022

Tatiana Koquice Jefferson was a 28-year-old African American woman whose life was cut tragically short in the early morning hours of October 12, 2019, when a police officer entered her Fort Worth, TX home and shot her. Ms. Jefferson was an aunt, a sister, and a daughter who had dreams and plans for her life.  The night she died she was in her home playing video games in her living room with her then eight-year-old nephew, Zion. The Fort Worth police arrived at Ms. Jefferson’s home at 2 am in response to a neighbor’s call to a non-emergency number, stating that Jefferson’s front door was ajar. They would leave having killed Tatiana. Thirty-six-year-old Aaron Dean, a second-year officer, entered Jefferson’s home and never announced his presence as a police officer while checking out the home. When he walked to the back of the home, Ms. Jefferson heard sounds. After hearing someone creeping around in the back of her home, Ms. Jefferson approached her window with her gun, according to court documents. When she opened the blinds, Dean fired a single shot that killed Ms. Jefferson. Black women cannot assume that it is safe to own a gun for protection in one’s own home when inexperienced police officers enter their homes unannounced in the process of responding to a neighbor’s call at 2am in the morning, or perhaps at any time of the day. Ms. Jefferson’s death was avoidable. Black lives (or anybody’s life) should not be the collateral damage of inexperienced or incompetent policing and problematic unjust policies.

Tatiana’s grieving sister, Amber Carr said this:  “My sister didn’t do anything wrong. She was at home like you’re supposed to be at 2 a.m. in the morning, minding her business.” Ashley Carr said “We should be probably celebrating her finishing medical school, you know.” Justice continues to elude Tatiana, her family, and our nation. “It’s still a battle. It’s still going on and it never ends until justice prevails,” Amber Carr, Zion’s mother and Jefferson’s sister, said. Tatiana’s nephew Zion is now eleven years old and engaged in protesting his aunt’s death and the deaths of others similarly killed. Zion has been at the front of many protests and remembrance events for Jefferson and is now eleven years old. “He feels like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders,” Amber said. “We try to remind him he’s a child. You don’t have to figure it out. We’re here to figure it out for you.” The Atatiana Project is now what Ashley and Amber say provides them motivation to keep going and the ability to keep Jefferson’s name alive. The charity provides urban youth the ability to receive additional STEAM education, one of Tatiana Jefferson’s passions. Never forget! SayHerName! Tatiana Koquice Jefferson.