A jury in Mesa, Arizona found former police officer Phillip Brailsford Not Guilty of Second Degree Murder in the shooting death of Daniel Shaver in the hallway of a La Quinta Inn. The incident was captured on body cam, but was not released by the Judge in the case until after the verdict was rendered.
The case did not receive the national attention of other cases, possibly because the deceased man was white and/or the fact that the video was not released.
Mesa Police received a call that a man was waving a rifle in a room at the La Quinta Inn. The video shows the man and his wife coming out of the room with a heavily armed police presence. The officers ordered the two to the floor and then had the female crawl toward the officers. Numerous commands were given to the male who was visibly intoxicated and crying for the officers not to shoot him.
He was crawling toward the officers when he stopped and reached toward his back when Officer Brailsford fired four shots from his AR-15 tactical rifle killing Shaver.
The “furtive” movement of the suspect meets the reasonable requirement of the use of lethal force, but the serious questions arise as to whether the force use was necessary as
the officers at the scene had overwhelming firepower and were in complete control of the scene. They also had sufficient manpower to lay Shaver prone and to secure him on the floor. They knew that he was intoxicated and would likely be unable to understand and comply with directions. Two pellet rifles were found in the hotel room which Shaver apparently used in his pest control business.
The results of the investigation by the Mesa Police Department were turned over to the Maricopa County District Attorney who filed the Murder charge against the officer.
Tactical errors do not constitute criminal behavior and the charge against the officer should have never been filed. Brailsford served as a Mesa officer for about two years before he was fired for violations of departmental policy, including unsatisfactory performance.