Daniel Shaver shooting, Murder by Coward

[Team Sergeant]

Had this young man been my son, Philip Brailsford would now be a dead man.



This is murder by coward, nothing more nothing less.












Daniel Shaver shooting: Ex-Arizona police officer acquitted of murder
by Erik Ortiz

Last year's fatal shooting of a Texas man by Arizona police was caught on body-camera video and showed him sobbing with his hands up, begging for his life in his final moments.
Jurors who watched the full video showing Daniel Shaver's death agreed Thursday to acquit former Mesa officer Philip Mitchell Brailsford of murder, ending an emotional six-week trial. Brailsford faced as many as 25 years in prison for the second-degree murder charge.

Brailsford's attorney, Michael Piccarreta, put an arm around his client after the verdict was read.
"There are no winners in this case," Piccarreta said, "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."
Laney Sweet, Shaver's widow, shook her head "no" after the decision was read and later declined to answer questions, reported The Associated Press. She and Shaver's parents have filed wrongful-death lawsuits against the city of Mesa.
Mark Geragos, an attorney representing the Shaver family, called the shooting an "execution" and said the "justice system miserably failed," reported The Arizona Republic.


https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/daniel-shaver-shooting-ex-arizona-police-officer-not-guilty-murder-n827641

[bblhead672]

Another "terrified" young cop executes an innocent civilian, and the "justice" system lets him walk. WTF is wrong with juries these days?

[CSB]

The video stops immediately after the murder. I'd like to know what happened after that.
Oh, and the fact that the coward etched "You're Fucked" on his AR-15 was not old to the jury. (How did the DA not introduce the murder weapon into evidence? Was he trying to throw the case?)

[Mustang Man]

I may not have the most tactical expertise, but the why f*ck did they not just cuff him when he was laying down with his hands behind his head? Would have been simpler to do that while the others pulled security. Instead we get a sadist playing simon says with an impaired or individual not use to high stress.

[Dean Jarvis]

It's a capital offence in the view of LEO's if you fail to perform as commanded. This has been a problem all along. It's just more transparent lately due to the body cameras in use and everyone carrying an iPhone with a camera.

Back in the day when I was with the 19th SFG we held a combined summer camp with the Arizona NG. Two of them were Phoenix police. They were telling us how they carried a throw-down gun with them. If the person they shot was unarmed they had one they could use.

Not sure what happened to the days when the cops would just go toe to toe with someone and just duke it out. Now you mess up performing one of their commands and its a death sentence.

[turboprop]

It's depressing to see how often there are stories like that these days. It's also lame how much profiteering there is trying to make police "warriors" rather than public servants. You can give someone an assault rifle and molle webbing, but it doesn't change their job or level of training. A lot of our own have made quite a bit of coin training cops in topics like "assaulting" and "gunfighting" when they have never done any policing themselves.

I've never been a cop, still I understand that the treatment of a civilian in America should be different than someone who was likely an enemy combatant a few moments earlier. How about why the fuck was he having the guy crawl toward him when he didn't know if he had anything in his waistband! Multiple bros with assault rifles on the scene and no-one knows how to detain someone? The "split second decision defense" only applies because that situation was created by lack of training, SA, simple protocol and sound judgement. There were no rapidly unfolding events that required quick decisions. They spun themselves up until they completely lost themselves and control of the situation.

I would like to know if they were following their department's protocol on this. If yes, whomever is responsible for developing it and training these guys should be fired.

[atticus finch]

It's a capital offence in the view of LEO's if you fail to perform as commanded. This has been a problem all along. It's just more transparent lately due to the body cameras in use and everyone carrying an iPhone with a camera.

Back in the day when I was with the 19th SFG we held a combined summer camp with the Arizona NG. Two of them were Phoenix police. They were telling us how they carried a throw-down gun with them. If the person they shot was unarmed they had one they could use.

Not sure what happened to the days when the cops would just go toe to toe with someone and just duke it out. Now you mess up performing one of their commands and its a death sentence.

a lot of things have happened which have changed the prevailing culture within law enforcement.

1. what happened here is the next step in the same mentality which drives shooting peoples pets simply because they can claim they "felt threatened" by a pet.
It is the next step in what has been created by the pretext of 'officer safety'
once upon a time peace officers were respected and venerated for one simple reason. They chose to do a job which they knew placed them in a position of danger due to our civil rights and the bonafide law. the idea of considering everyone and everything a threat and therefore subject to lethal force was not a primary consideration, the idea was keeping the peace, not default escalation to lethal force. Therefore the peace officer deliberately choosing to place himself in the risk of danger to simply keep the peace and treat the public accordingly. No longer, now the public and their pets are treated in default fashion according to "I felt threatened..." via "officer safety"

2. they are not personally financially responsible for their behavior. "qualified immunity" means an officer does not have to face the same legal responsibilities an average individual does when it comes to lethal force.
The lawsuits? Who pays for those? The public ultimately does.
Where does the insurance money come from? The public pays the taxes which pay for the insurance.
When a cop is subject to the same standards the public faces via a shooting, then cops will likely approach lethal force with the same care as does the public.

3. when the legal system treats cops to the same std the public is treated, then things will change.
The video of the shooting was hidden from the jury, the judge thought it would be "unfair" to the cop were the audio / video record of what actually happened were shown to the jury.
Why is it "unfair" or "prejudicial" to show the truth to a jury so they can make a decision based on the facts?
Why was the statement enscribed on that cops rifle not allowed to be shown to the jury?
These very same things would be shown in court were it an ordinary citizen on trial for lethal force.

4. cops nowadays no longer 'keep the peace' were that the case this individual likely would have been handled entirely different. Once he's prone on the ground, he could have been handcuffed and the situation has been deescalated and things have not been escalated up what happened.
The entirety of those cops behavior was to needlessly and wrongfully escalate that situation via the use of fear to terrify that individual, then deliberately confuse him via multiple rapidly screamed commands into a state where he could not comply with what was demanded of him.

these are some of the things which need to be changed and have produced the culture within LE which lead to this young man being wrongfully killed.

[Team Sergeant]

I’m not a cop. I am a trained killer, (since I was 18). Also trained to take other "trained killers" and terrorists prisoner in combat conditions.

After analyzing the video, I see absolutely no threat. I do see an armed individual that is “clearly” in “complete” control of an unarmed individual. I see the same armed individual command the unarmed individual to move towards him, which makes zero sense, until the unarmed individual falls and is murdered.

The person on his knees and nothing in his hands is no threat to this armed individual.

This was murder, plain and simple.

[Combat Diver]

Watched the video this morning. If I was on that jury he would have been found guilty. Shaver was fully compilent with his conflicting commands. To me the shot was not warranted and I hope the family sues the PD for wrongful death. Also where's the riots?

CD

[Team Sergeant]

Makes me wonder if Philip Brailsford “tried” to join the military and was refused entry.

And…… I’d like to see Philip Brailsford's “social media” posts.

Want to bet he talks about having to “kill someone” someday. :munchin

[Chucko]

I watched the video this morning and my thoughts initially were, "Is the suspect a mass murderer? I could see the suspect was getting frustrated with all the BS commands but was trying to comply. Is the cop being just legitimately precautious? Is that why all the Simon says antics were being carried on?"

My initial reaction is why the cop, and he wasn't alone, just didn't go up when his hands were behind his head and throw the cuffs on?

The actions just went on and on and on until the suspect twitched, then blamo. He got it.

I think the shooting was brought on by the cops dicking around needlessly.

[Mustang Man]

https://m.liveleak.com/view?i=5f6_1512716304

Full video here, to see all the mundane commands. Watch till the very end to see them embarrassingly open a door. This guy was living out his Call or Duty fantasy.

[PSM]

"Keep your legs crossed! Hands up in the air! . . . Hands straight up in the air. . . . Crawl towards me!" Now, how the hell do you crawl in the position? :mad:

[Badger52]

"Keep your legs crossed! Hands up in the air! . . . Hands straight up in the air. . . . Crawl towards me!" Now, how the hell do you crawl in the position? :mad:You got it Pat. Odds of surviving a routine traffic continue to go down.

"DON'T MOVE! SHOW ME YOUR HANDS!" One of these does not look like the other.

This was a murder.

[Box]

shit like this is why good people don't trust law enforcement anymore

When I was a kid - I was taught that 'officer friendly' was on the beat to help people.
Not anymore - Officer Friendly, Joe Friday, and Andy Taylor have long been retired and Americas streets are now patrolled by the likes of Vic Makey, Alonzo Harris, and Officer Slater.

...but hey, as long as everyone goes home safe

[bblhead672]

It hasn't helped that the former Czar of the United States Barry Soetoro promoted a war on cops that resulted in heightened levels of threat against them. Which put cops on a defensive footing that causes overreactions like this.

Still, no excuse for shooting the man until he clearly had a weapon in his hand. I read an article from AZ that a Mesa police training officer said that the shooting wasn't justified, that they teach recruits to not shoot until a weapon is being pointed at them.

I remember another event, in 2016 I think, where a police officer fired several shots with his rifle at an autistic boy sitting in the middle of a alley, the officers were yelling commands at him but he wasn't responding (duh, he's autistic) and the officer fired on him. Later, when asked why he pulled the trigger the officer's response was "I don't know."

This country's law enforcement community needs to dial back the aggressiveness and military tactics being used against the people. Yes, the police want to go home safely at the end of their shift. So do innocent tax-payers who pay the cops salaries.

The majority "good cops" we are constantly told about must enact a zero tolerance policy toward their "bad cop" co-workers and start restoring honor, respect and credibility to their profession. If not, they could end up down at the bottom of the list with Congress/politicians, the mainstream media and car salespeople.

[PedOncoDoc]

The majority "good cops" we are constantly told about must enact a zero tolerance policy toward their "bad cop" co-workers and start restoring honor, respect and credibility to their profession. If not, they could end up down at the bottom of the list with Congress/politicians, the mainstream media and car salespeople.

If only we, as a country, could get back to holding each other accountable for our actions and stop being ashamed to acknowledge the messes in our own houses....

[Sohei]

If only we, as a country, could get back to holding each other accountable for our actions and stop being ashamed to acknowledge the messes in our own houses....

It takes true honor and integrity to admit when one's home needs cleaning.

And, it takes true effort to then clean the house.

No one will clean "your" house like yourself. If they can't admit their issues...the won't see the need for cleaning.

Unfortunately, LE, like everywhere else, personal responsibility is going by the wayside as a trait that should be highly desired.

[Team Sergeant]

You can't hire good cops and pay them shit.

You can lower the standards, hire idiots, pay them shit and call them cops.

Get used to it.

[Box]

...it doesn't help that the left makes it a point to praise unlawful or aberrant behavior as a general rule

[Streck-Fu]

At least that Sheepdog went home at night.

I wonder if Dave Grossman autographed his copy of On Killing....

[Five-O]

Bad Shoot. Sad and difficult to watch.

Reminded me somewhat of the Albuquerque NM shooting of a homeless man a few years ago.


Officers were called for a man with a rifle pointing it out a window of a hotel (responding officers must have thought Las Vegas...Mesa AZ isn't that far from there). So they are going into the call with that mentality I would ASSUME. Once in contact with the suspect they should have realized the situation for what it was. It is difficult for me to gauge the SGT giving verbal commands. At one moment he was very calm and collected, giving precise commands....the next he was screaming his head off at the suspect. That does not increase compliance and surely makes other officers a little more tense. The kid could not have been more compliant with verbal commands. He did not get all the commands 100% correct but he was compliant for sure. There is a difference. The suspect was completely compliant in every way just not correctly compliant. It is certainly not an exact science but....an experienced police officer should be able to asses in seconds, if he or she is dealing with a Yes person or a NO person. Based solely on this video this kid was a 100000% yes person.


The "You're fucked" etching on the officers dust cover is something an air softer would have, not a professional LEO. I question the officers chain of command for allowing it if they knew of it; and I question the leadership if they did not know about it. Some may find it has no relevance to this bad shooting but I would say it calls into question the officers mindset, maturity, sensibility and common sense. It is obviously a good thing he is no longer a police officer.

[Bleed Green]

I think that a good many of you made a ton of points about things that are so often overlooked in todays agencies. Pay, training and the recent climate set by the WH are all playing out. Training IMHO is the one factor that we have gone way overboard in neglecting. I think TS opined that when you had this guy on the ground was when you should have been cuffing him and I am totally in agreement with that. The way that this is trained these days is to make the suspect come closer to you and this is one example of what could go wrong with that because it is applied to every situation the same way with little to no regard about the intended purpose in doing this in the first place. The other thing that I disagree with in current training is the apathy regarding laying hands on people due to the emphasis placed on less than lethal tools being used today.

The one thing that was overlooked is the value of a good attorney. Michael Piccarreta has made a pretty good living at defending a lot of police that have been charged with everything from murder to drug smuggling and he is one of the best defense attorneys that I ever witnessed in the state. I am reasonably certain that one factor was probably enough to secure the verdict that was rendered.