A former Arizona police officer was found not guilty of murder Thursday of in the 2016 fatal shooting of an unarmed man outside his hotel room, as video of the shocking moment is finally released by officials.
Philip Mitchell Brailsford, 27, was found not guilty in the 2016 death of 26-year-old father-of-two Daniel Shaver, from Granbury, Texas.
The shooting, which Shaver’s family has referred to as an ‘execution,’ occurred in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa when officers were responding to a call that someone was pointing a gun out a window at the La Quinta Hotel.
Police told Shaver to exit his hotel room, lay face-down in a hallway and refrain from making sudden movements – or he risked being shot.
New disturbing footage of the encounter shows the moment Shaver, sobbing and crawling towards the officer, audibly begs ‘please don’t kill me,’ before Brailsford opens fire and shoots him dead.
Philip Mitchell Brailsford, 27, was found not guilty in the 2016 death of 26-year-old father-of-two Daniel Shaver, from Granbury, Texas. Brailsford is pictured in court on October 25 at the start of the murder trial
The shooting occurred in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa when officers were responding to a call that someone was pointing a gun out a window at the La Quinta Hotel. Shaver is pictured with his two daughters
In the video he can be Shaver can be seen sobbing and lying on the ground as he starts to inch himself forward.
As he was slowly moving he pauses for a moment to reach toward the waistband of his shorts. Brailsford said he fired his AR-15 because he believed Shaver was grabbing a handgun in his waistband.
While no gun was found on Shaver’s body, two pellet rifles related to his pest-control job were later found in his room.
Shaver’s family’s lawyer Mark Geragos described the shooting as ‘an execution pure and simple.’
After the verdict was read he said: ‘The justice system miserably failed Daniel and his family.’
In the video he can be Shaver can be seen sobbing and with his hands over his head as he gets to the ground and starts to inch himself forward
He then puts his hands on his head and slowly inches himself forward towards Brailsford
As he was slowly moving he pauses for a moment to reach toward the waistband of his shorts. Brailsford said he fired his AR-15 because he believed Shaver was grabbing a handgun in his waistband
The video then shows the moment that Brailsford opens fire and shoots Shaver five times in the chest. While no gun was found on Shaver’s body, two pellet rifles related to his pest-control job were later found in his room
The detective investigating the shooting had agreed Shaver’s movement was similar to reaching for a pistol, but has said it also looked like Shaver may have been reaching to pull up his loose-fitting basketball shorts that had fallen down as he was ordered to crawl toward officers.
The investigator noted he did not see anything that would have prevented officers from simply handcuffing Shaver as he was on the floor.
Brailsford’s attorney Michael Piccarreta put an arm around his client after the verdict was read.
‘There are no winners in this case, but Mitch Brailsford had to make a split-second decision on a situation that he was trained to recognize as someone drawing a weapon and had one second to react,’ Piccarreta said.
‘He didn’t want to harm Mr. Shaver… The circumstances that night that were presented led him to conclude that he was in danger.
‘Try to make a decision in one second, life or death. It’s pretty hard.’
Shaver’s widow, Laney Sweet, and Shaver’s parents have filed wrongful-death lawsuits against the city of Mesa over the shooting death. Shaver’s family’s lawyer Mark Geragos described the shooting as ‘an execution pure and simple. ‘ Shaver, Sweet and their two children are all pictured
Laney Sweet, left, Shiver’s widow, arrives at Maricopa County Superior Court with attorney Mark Geragos, right, for the opening statements in Brailsford’s murder trial. On Thursday she shook her head ‘no’ after the jury’s decision and said she wasn’t going to answer any questions
Brailsford said that he opened fire because he only had a split-second to make the decision. He told jurors that he was terrified for the safety of officers and a woman who in the hallway. He also said he felt ‘incredibly sad’ for Shaver
Piccarreta also said he wasn’t sure his client would be interested in trying to get his police job back.
Shaver’s widow, Laney Sweet, and Shaver’s parents have filed wrongful-death lawsuits against the city of Mesa over the shooting death.
Sweet shook her head ‘no’ after the jury’s decision and said she wasn’t going to answer any questions. Shaver’s parents didn’t respond to reporters’ questions as they left the courtroom.
During his trial testimony, Brailsford described the stress that he faced in responding to the call and his split-second decision to shoot Shaver.
Brailsford told jurors that he was terrified for the safety of officers and a woman who in the hallway. He also said he felt ‘incredibly sad’ for Shaver.
The former cop served as a Mesa officer for about two years before he was fired for violations of departmental policy, including unsatisfactory performance.
He is one of the few police officers in the US to be charged with murder for shooting someone while on duty.
The shooting occurred as police departments across the US became focal points of protests over deadly encounters with law enforcement.