On 18 January 2016, Mesa Police Department officer Philip Brailsford, age 26, shot and killed 26-year-old Daniel Shaver of Granbury, Texas. Shaver was allegedly in possession of an air rifle while he was staying at a La Quinta Inns & Suites hotel. An anonymous caller reported seeing the rifle through the hotel room window to the police. Following an investigation, Brailsford was charged with second-degree murder. Controversy emerged surrounding the release of body camera footage of the event.
Video Death of Daniel Shaver
Incident
According to a police report, Daniel Shaver, a pest-control worker and resident of Granbury, Texas, had been staying at a Mesa La Quinta Inn on business. He invited two acquaintances to his room for drinks. There he showed them a pellet gun he was using to exterminate birds inside grocery stores. At one point the gun was pointed towards his hotel window, prompting a witness to call police. Upon arrival, police ordered Shaver to crawl towards them. While complying with their request, Shaver, who was intoxicated, made several hand motions towards his waist, apparently to pull his shorts up. An officer warned Shaver that if he kept reaching for his waist, they would shoot. Shaver could be heard sobbing, begging officers, "Please don't shoot."
When Shaver reached for his waist again, Brailsford yelled "Don't!" before shooting Shaver five times in the back and neck with an AR-15 rifle. Shaver was unarmed.
Maps Death of Daniel Shaver
Aftermath
In early March 2016, Brailsford was charged with second-degree murder in relation to the incident. Later that month, the Mesa police department, citing several policy violations that included the profane language "YOU'RE F[*]CKED" custom engraved into his rifle dust cover and unsatisfactory performance, fired Brailsford. Brailsford pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution and defense have interviewed 34 witnesses, but key witness Monique Portillo has not cooperated with any requests for interviews. Portillo, who had been drinking in Shaver's room with Shaver and a co-worker, exited the hotel room with Shaver when commanded by police to enter the hallway.
Body camera footage
Shaver's wife, Laney Sweet, and her lawyer requested that the Mesa Police Department release body-cam footage of the event. The request for the body-cam footage was initially refused. In a recording released by Sweet, purportedly of a meeting between her and Maricopa County prosecutors, Sweet was told that she could watch the video only if she agreed not to discuss its contents with the press. Prosecutors and defense attorneys in Brailsford's murder trial asked that the body-cam footage be sealed. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sam Myers accepted the motion to seal the footage.
On 25 May 2016, Myers ordered portions of the video released. The released video omits the shooting itself. The edited version includes footage from Brailsford's body camera up to the time when someone exits Shaver's hotel room and footage from another officer's camera while he escorts a woman from the hotel. In accordance with arguments from Brailsford, prosecutors, and Shaver's parents, the court order bars the public release of the encounter between officers and Shaver until Brailsford's case is resolved in order to protect Brailsford's right to a fair trial.
Trial
Brailsford's trial for second degree murder was originally scheduled for February 2017. A defense motion challenging the state's probable cause to send the case to trial, and appeals to the Arizona Supreme Court over the release of controversially redacted footage from Brailsford's body camera, made a February trial unrealistic. On 10 February 2017, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge George Foster rescheduled the trial for 23 October 2017.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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