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Mesa, AZ, Will Pay $8 Million to Widow of Unarmed Man Shot and Killed While Crawling to Police

Mesa, AZ, Will Pay $8 Million to Widow of Unarmed Man Shot and Killed While Crawling to Police

“instead of handcuffing Shaver, officers—bizarrely—started barking confusing and contradictory orders at him to crawl toward them”

In Januray of 2016, a man named Daniel Shaver was shot and killed by police in Mesa, Arizona. Shaver was unarmed and trying to comply with seemingly conflicting orders from police that he crawl towards them.

This was a horrible abuse of power by the police, but interestingly, there were no riots or even protests over it.

Reason reports:

Arizona Town To Pay $8 Million to Widow of Daniel Shaver, Shot While Crawling Unarmed Toward Police

The Arizona Republic reports that the town of Mesa, Arizona, reached an $8 million settlement last week with the widow of Daniel Shaver. Shaver is the unarmed man who was fatally shot while crawling down a hallway on his hands and knees toward police officers, begging them not to shoot him.

In January 2016, Mesa police responded to a report of a man pointing a rifle out of a hotel window. It was in fact Shaver showing a pellet gun that he used at his exterminator job to a couple other hotel guests in his room.

Police ordered Shaver out of the hotel room and onto the ground, with his hands behind his head. But instead of handcuffing Shaver, officers—bizarrely—started barking confusing and contradictory orders at him to crawl toward them. As a clearly terrified and drunk Shaver tried to crawl toward the police, he appeared to reach toward his waistband to pull up his sagging shorts. A Mesa officer, Philip Mitchell Brailsford, shot Shaver five times with an AR-15, killing him.

The incident was part of a string of deadly police shootings of unarmed men caught on camera, including the killings of Philando Castille and Walter Scott*. Shaver’s death brought national media attention and bipartisan outrage to Mesa. As David French wrote in National Review, “I have seen soldiers deal with al Qaeda terrorists with more professionalism and poise.”

This is a video of the shooting. WARNING: GRAPHIC AND DISTURBING:

People are upset that the officer in this case still got his pension.

NBC News reported in 2019:

Police officer who fatally shot sobbing man temporarily rehired to apply for pension

A former Mesa, Arizona, police officer who was acquitted two years ago in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man seen on video pleading “please do not shoot me” was temporarily rehired by his department last year so he could apply for an accidental disability pension.

Philip Mitchell Brailsford, 28, is now retired from the force with a tax-free pension worth $31,000 a year for life — and his attorney confirmed Friday that the settlement was a result of him suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder due to the shooting involving Daniel Shaver of Texas…

“Any individual going through what he went through would be traumatized and suffer emotional distress, and as a result, it was best to medically retire,” Brailsford’s attorney, Michael Piccarreta, said.

A horrible turn of events, on every level.

Featured image via YouTube.

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Comments

I hope everybody watches the video to see how bad this was. I hope nobody has to watch it twice.

What does it say about the department that he was rehired specifically so that he could draw that disability pension? Rotten to the core.

I remember this when it initially came out. The LEO failed. The victim of this shooting was given contradictory commands and was submissive. Nothing in his posture and movements were hostile. Once he was submitting then either have him walk backwards to the LEO or have him prone with hands visible.

As Dathurtz, stated it is unconscionable that the LEO involved was temporarily rehired solely to qualify for a pension. Needed ten years to make the cut? Tough. The LEO who pulled the trigger should be in prison. It is past time the overly aggressive tactics of LEO are reeled in.

    The Gentle Grizzly in reply to CommoChief. | December 7, 2022 at 3:45 pm

    Chief: one worry at the back of my mind is: some group of cops screaming contradicting orders, one of which is “get on your knees!”

    I’m stiff, have two implants, and do move slow. So, I’m a dead man.

      My husband and I were talking about this last night. He’s got a bum knee and he said he would have told the cop to fuck off and stayed in position with his feet crossed and hands interlaced behind his head. I won’t move but I’ll make you do the work.

The Gentle Grizzly | December 7, 2022 at 3:39 pm

“ This was a horrible abuse of power by the police, but interestingly, there were no riots or even protests over it.”

They’d have NEVER done this to an exalted minority.

“Any individual going through what he went through would be traumatized and suffer emotional distress, and as a result, it was best to medically retire,” Brailsford’s attorney, Michael Piccarreta, said.

“What he went through.” This piece of shit murdering excuse for a cop should be rotting in prison for the rest of his life. Instead he can live off the taxpayer dime for the rest of his stinking wretched existence.

Close The Fed | December 7, 2022 at 4:28 pm

Don’t forget: this cop had “You’re Fucked” engraved on the weapon, but it was excluded from the murder trial. Judge ruled it was too prejudicial.

I think it should have been admitted. It showed the cop’s mindset. And he carried it out. He was hankering to.

https://www.tmz.com/2017/12/07/mesa-police-involved-shooting-bodycam-philip-brailsford-not-guilty-daniel-shaver/

citing David French…. geeze may as well cite SPLC as credible non waste of oxygen too.

Bad shoot w/out citing hacks like French.

This was a horrible incident. The cop involved should have properly been convicted. The victim was obviously terrified and in fear of his life at the unreasonable and sadistic commands being given by the cop.

As others have noted, the cop was eventually fired for violating department policy by having written a stupid comment on his rifle’s barrel, “You’re F’d,” which gives you some indication of his immaturity and improper attitude.

The only consolation in all of this, at least Brailsford is no longer on the force. Small comfort to Shaver’s family. What a travesty.

That police officer is out and out nuts.

Richard Aubrey | December 7, 2022 at 7:27 pm

Take the settlement from the cops’ retirement fund. Next time, they’ll be a bit more cautious about their nutcase compadres.

And just so no one forgets, the well-deserved compensatory award to the family of the victim is not actually coming from his oppressors, but from the pool of their oppressed. It’s like a Chinese “bullet fee,” but all so Very Democratic.

Still one of the absolute worst shoots I’ve ever seen.

Unbelievable the LEO wasn’t charged.

” but interestingly, there were no riots or even protests over it.”

The victim was white.

Democrats don’t riot over white victims.

Republicans don’t riot.

This didn’t even cause a ripple in the national media. Didn’t fit the narrative. Victim was born with the wrong color skin. Outside of the Conservative blogosphere, no one outside of AZ has even heard of this case.

I watched this vid shortly after the event. Made me physically ill.

I’m glad the officers were prosecuted. At first I’d heard they weren’t even going to do that – investigation somehow determined it was a “clean shoot”.

Incredible that the jury didn’t convict.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis, an officer got 22 1/2 years for being present at the fentanyl overdose, self inflicted, of a black man. Jurors openly talked about intimidation – they were being followed home and threatened daily. Federal conviction of the officers for a racial hate crime also – even though there was never any evidence of any racial bias.

Our legal system is a farce. Absolute last place you would expect anything resembling justice.

8 Million is not enough, and its coming from the wrong source.

To be fair, I have heard the rationale of a “furtive movement” and how quickly someone can draw and fire a handgun.

I just don’t believe that that applies here.

As others have noted, the victim was given contradictory commands and, IIRC, was intoxicated.

Also as noted, police could have left him on the floor with arms spread, reducing the risk of a weapon draw, and cuffed him there.

I remember watching this video a couple years ago. I couldn’t watch it again. It made me physically ill. I found myself wishing unfortunate karma would fall on that sick SOB (and I’m normally a very forgiving person). We really should have intensive psychological screening for people wanting LEO jobs, like for airline pilots, but I guess it “costs too much.”

Awarded WAY to much of the tax payers money

    CommoChief in reply to gmhunt. | December 8, 2022 at 10:07 am

    How much taxpayer money will be going to the shooter in pension benefits over his lifetime?

      Hominem Humilem in reply to CommoChief. | December 9, 2022 at 10:59 pm

      Well, let’s see. The 2019 article says he retired at age 28 with a $31k/year pension. His life expectancy would be 50 years or so from that point, so he’ll get just over $1.5 million over 50 years (not including the annual increases typically paid out to cover inflation).

      If we assume a 2 percent per year cost of living increase, the payout for the trauma experienced by the distinguished officer would be more like $2.6 million over 50 years…with the 50th year payment almost $82k. Compound interest is strong…

How was this justified as a good shoot? Was this “crawl towards us” taught to the cops? Tactically, once the suspects are on the ground, one cop covers, the other advances and cuffs. Worst police shoot ever. The officer thought he was controlling the situation, when in fact he was huffing himself up to shoot someone.

I watched it initially. Can’t watch it again.

    Dathurtz in reply to DaveGinOly. | December 8, 2022 at 1:33 pm

    Shaver’s shorts were falling as he tried to crawl and he tried to pull them up. “He was moving towards me and reached for his waistband!”

lord–playing acey-deucey with an unarmed, intoxicated individual–difficult to watch–what an irresponsible pos–unable to control himself / the situation and an innocent person dies–the worst, most dangerous type of person to be carrying a badge and a weapon