HOUSTON, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The police chief of Fort Worth, U.S. state of Texas, apologized Tuesday for the killing of a woman in her bedroom early Saturday morning by an officer.
Ed Kraus, police chief of Fort Worth, about 420 km northwest of downtown Houston, said at a news conference, "I'm deeply sorry for what occurred."
"Human life is a precious thing. It should not have been taken from Ms. Jefferson," Kraus added.
Atatiana Jefferson, a 28-year-old black woman, was shot dead early Saturday morning by white police officer Aaron Dean. Community activists have been demanding answers for the fatal shooting.
According to the police department, around 2:25 a.m. local time on Saturday, officers responded to an "open structure call" made by a neighbor to the police department's nonemergency number.
Body camera footage released by the police showed the officer outside the home, looking into Jefferson's bedroom window and shouting, "Put your hands up! Show me your hands!" before firing a single bullet that killed Jefferson.
On Monday, Dean, 34, resigned from the police department. Several hours later, he was arrested by police officers at his attorney's office and charged with murder.
Kraus has promised a "thorough, transparent and speedy" investigation into the shooting incident, and said he hoped to rebuild trust in a community that is deeply suspicious of its police force.
The chief said authorities have also presented the case to the FBI because of possible civil rights violations.
Mayor of Fort Worth Betsy Price said on Monday, "The entire city is in pain," and "I can't imagine anything worse."
She hoped that trust between Fort Worth's citizens and its police would eventually be rebuilt, but warned that it will take time and lots of incremental steps.
Several weeks ago, former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the murder of her former neighbor Botham Jean inside his own apartment in September last year.
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in Texas and the second-largest city in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area, which is the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the United States.
