Execution of Daniel Shaver

A judge on Dec. 8 released graphic video showing Daniel Shaver crawling on his hands and knees and begging for his life before he was shot and killed. (Maricopa County Superior Court)

Graphic. Viewer discretion is advised. Source

“That’s an execution pure and simple. The Justice system miserably failed Daniel and his family”
– Mark geragos, Geragos & Geragos, APC

Death of Daniel Shaver
Event

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. Wikipedia

Charges: Second degree murder
Date: January 18, 2016
Accused: Philip Brailsford
Location: Mesa, Arizona, United States
Total number of deaths: 1

Graphic video shows Daniel Shaver sobbing and begging officer for his life before 2016 shooting

Source

Shaver was kneeling, crying and begging not to be shot after he was confronted by six Mesa police officers in a La Quinta Inn & Suites hallway Jan. 18, 2016.

Shaver was one of at least 963 fatal police shootings in 2016, according to a Washington Post database. And Shaver’s death was one of an increasing number of fatal police shootings to prompt criminal charges in the years since the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Mo. following the death of Michael Brown. Yet charges remain rare, and convictions even more so.

The shooting, by then-Mesa police department officer Philip “Mitch” Brailsford, occurred after officers responded to a call about a man allegedly pointing a rifle out of a fifth-floor window at a La Quinta Inn. Inside the room, Shaver, 26, had been doing rum shots with a woman he’d met earlier that day and showing off a pellet gun he used for his job in pest control.

The graphic video, recorded by Brailsford’s body camera, shows Shaver and the woman exiting the hotel room and immediately complying with the officer’s demand that they lay down on the ground.

Shaver immediately puts his hands in the air and lays down on the ground while informing the officer that no one else was in the hotel room.

“If you make a mistake, another mistake, there is a very severe possibility that you’re both going to get shot. Do you understand?” Brailsford said, before telling Shaver to “shut up.”

“I’m not here to be tactical and diplomatic with you. You listen. You obey,” Brailsford says.

For the next five minutes, Brailsford gives Shaver a series of instructions. First, the officer demands that Shaver put both of his hands on top of his head, next he instructs him to cross his left foot over his right foot.

“If you move, we’re going to consider that a threat and we are going to deal with it and you may not survive it,” Brailsford said.

The officer then had the woman crawl down the hallway where she was taken into custody. Shaver remained on the ground in the hallway, his hands on his head.

The officer tells Shaver to keep his legs crossed and push himself up into a kneeling position. As Shaver pushes himself up, his legs come uncrossed, prompting the officer to scream at him.

“I’m sorry,” Shaver says, placing his hands near his waist, prompting another round of screaming.

“You do that again we’re shooting you, do you understand?” Brailsford yells.

“Please do not shoot me,” Shaver begs, his hands up straight in the air.

At the officers’ command, Shaver then crawls down the hallway sobbing. At one point, he reaches back — possibly to pull up his shorts — and Brailsford opens fire, striking Shaver five times.

According to the police report, Brailsford was carrying an AR-15 rifle, with the phrase “You’re F–ked” etched into the weapon. The police report also said the “shots were fired so rapidly that in watching the video at regular speed, one cannot count them.”

Brailsford testified in court that he believed Shaver was reaching for a gun. No gun was found on Shaver’s body. Two pellet rifles used for Shaver’s pest-control job were later found in the hotel room.

Brailsford’s attorney, Mike Piccarreta, told The Post in a previous interview that he thinks the body camera footage clears his client.

“It demonstrates that the officer had to make a split-second decision when [Shaver] moved his hands toward the small of his back after being advised that if he did, he’d be shot,” Piccarreta told the media in 2016.

____________________

twerkminister: Cops that are that afraid of an obviously unarmed individual should have desk jobs. The guy who killed that innocent man was a total douche bag and will hopefully never work as a cop again. Any police department that hires that idiot-coward should be lit up on the Internet…. no community is safe with that idiot operating as a police officer. The only difference between Philip Brailsford and a dumpster of shIt is the dumpster.

Mixelplfft: Why didn’t they cuff him when he was face down and not moving? What is this, COPS 101 fail?

That was pathetic. Those cops were the worst. Unbelievable.

stingray85: Why would a judge order this suppressed to “ensure a right to a fair trial”? What is fair about this situation…

Forderva: Imagine what kind of a macho, paranoid and fear-mongering environment creates cops like this guy? The low threshold for use of deadly force is set after a frightening, ridiculously low standard. Why on earth would he have him crawling against him like that? If he was ordered to lay down with his fingers entwined above his head and had his legs crossed: They could have frisked him/Shot him if he moved. That was not enough though. They had to have him crawl, while crying and begging for his life. Absolutely sickening. Also notice how they cannot even open the door after they have killed him. They are in no way trained well enough to handle stress and adrenaline.

MrWhippie: American cops are psychotic

CloakenWUWU: That is a straight up pure execution. Worst thing is, that the cop wont even be punished for committing a crime.

hairlice: Brailsford looks like a straight up hollywood movie lookin psychopath.

AlvinItchyCock: You could tell his mindsight right from the beginning when he asked for the extra mag. You could also tell the other cops knew he f***ed up when they put him off immediately and asked him to secure his weapon twice.

Also in case anyone is wondering that is a personal ar-15 which they are allowed to use in that city. Its inscribed with the words “you’re f***ed”

DrMantisTobogan9784: and for once nobody can bring race into it.

can we now start a real dialogue about the need to completely revamp how we hire, train, and arm all officers. its not longer isolated incidents, or simply a few rogue, racist cops. these escalating and trigger happy behaviors are permeating all levels of the american police / swat / rescue forces.

lmnfaggot: WTF…That’s as bad as the wardens in CS:GO Jailbreak.

LewdRudeJude: I love the keycarding at the end. If you wanted to see the complete picture of incompetence, watch these adult men legally authorized to fire on civilians with automatic weapons attempt to open a door.

Camel_99: I heard about this when it happened. The news at the time was trying to make it sound like the guy was coming at them. This is horrible to watch.

thegreyhoundness: That was… rough. That cop is out of his mind. I typically can put myself into the cop’s shoes, in a dynamic situation, and maybe understand how they felt they needed to shoot. Not this time. This was truly a bad shoot and a bad cop. This cowardly psychopath had no business being a LEO and now an innocent man is dead. What a mess.

HoundDogs: That officer was a complete robot. Totally numb from his training. No care or concern for the fact that a terrified human being was at the other end of his weapon. No concern for panic or terror the human was experiencing. No humanity at all. Just cold, callous, and robotic. Following procedures that led him to kill a terrified man.

He will get off, too. That guy reached down. Cops will justify this shooting in droves.

However, the department has trained this officer should be sued and they shouldn’t settle. We have got to stop training cops like this.

goingtohateme: So what did they do to deserve to die?

shadowofashadow: How the f*** could a jury acquit him? What the hell is wrong with people?

Heiseniceberg: These pigs think life is a video game with no consequences.

Steampunker683: This execution is a sad example of American police work. And it is not even close to being a random occurrence. American cops are really big on humiliating people. That is why this asshole was giving seemingly contradictory orders, once Daniel failed to comply, the cop had a justification to shoot him. Once a cop does something like this, the rest of the department closes ranks around him and Blue Line protects him and justifies his actions.

This was a half-assed prosecution. As is often the case with police defendants, District Attorney’s office holds back on the case, often by not allowing convictions on lesser charges.

The cop probably starts with his new department before Christmas.

##THIS IS WHY AMERICANS WILL **NEVER** GIVE UP THEIR GUNS.

__galactus___: American police are trigger happy. There was no reason to murder him. But don’t worry I’m sure the officer who shot will get a nice paid vacation until this all blows over.

IAMAExpertInBirdLaw: Nothing in my training or 7 years law enforcement experience would lead me to shooting this guy. These type of cops (and crimes against kids) are why I enjoy a nice cushy web development job. There’s no reason to shoot this guy.

If you’re going to detain them on the spot or within a foot or two of where they are you have them kneel or lay on their stomach with their ankles crossed and hands intertwined behind their head if they’re kneeling or extended above or to the side palms up hands open if they’re lying down.

You’re also trained to understand that when people have a gun pointed at them they start panicing and never 100% comply. It’s NOT a comply or die situation unless you know them to have a gun on them. You still have to wait to at least see something in their hand.

I would not have shot this man. This dude is a coward that hides behind his badge and gun and wants nothing but intimidation. I’m not big on vigilante justice but I don’t think this guy will be charged with anything. Scotus has set the standard for deadly force at “would an average trained law enforcement officer dear for their life”

I would not have feared for my life here unless I had already taken fire. Without a propensity to commit murder and a lack of threatening movement there was no reason to shoot him. When you have a gun on someone you will always win against them drawing and firing you should have enough of a reaction time as a cop to defend yourself if there’s a gun. There wasn’t here

supervillain66: Wow that was pathetic. What pussy cops. I’m sure they are super smug about taking that mans life. E’rthing by the book. I bet he’s got a dip in right now spitting into an empty coffee cup hat backwards and laughing about that time the fire department whooped them at basketball and his uncoordinated cop friend got his ass beat.

drgaz: One of those cases where I hope for the most brutal oppression system imaginable to become reality for everyone who endorses a case like this to get a taste of it.

Hearthstone4LyfeBro: That murderer deserves life in prison. What a scumbag. Rot in hell

xxbiscu1tsxx: What may be even more unsettling is the fact that the reaction to this video will drastically change depending on where you post. “Yea, but he shouldn’t have been doing anything illegal.” “Being a cop is a hard job.” “God bless them for protecting us.” Justifying and supporting this behavior is insane.

RedditAndShredIt: I have to say that of all the controversial police videos I’ve seen, this one has me legitimately scared. I don’t know if it’s because I could really sense the hopelessness and fear coming from the man that was having a hard time with the situation. I’m seriously afraid of being found in a situation where I might have to comply with an LEO…

natasha2827: That was brutal. Why would he move his hand like that, he was crying in fear!?

Qwaszx93: The police protect their psychopaths, and as such all deserve the badge of killers. Pigs indeed.

T1620: Murder

Influx66: Watch this shit not get any news coverage and not make it to the front page of Reddit

The-Juggernaut: I watched the video a few times. The “going for something in his belt” move isn’t even justified. This was a guy that wanted to shoot someone and did it. This is a murder. This isn’t manslaughter. This isn’t an accident. This is murder.

Apod283271: >Brailsford and other officers had instructed Shaver to crawl toward them with his hands in the air, according to police reports. They said he reached behind his back he would be shot. Brailsford said he opened fire after Shaver reached toward his waistline, possibly to pull up his shorts, according to police reports.

>Brailsford told investigators he thought Shaver was trying to get a better firing position and when he reached backwards, the officer fired.

>“So that’s when I assessed the threat. I fired my weapon, uh, five times,” Brailsford told investigators.

Why is america always so f***ing obsessed with muh guns, muh seal team 6, muh navy seals, muh cool weapons, shooting is cool.

I’m all for people being able to defend themselves with guns but every f***ing navy sela failure that ends up in a police station thinks they are in Vietnam fighting a war or something.

JumpyLynx420: I hope whoever pulled that trigger lives long enough to bury his wife and children. Then I hope he takes his police issued sidearm, deepthroats the barrel, and then goes to meet his f***ing family in hell.

F*** this piece of sh*t. Can’t believe our taxes go to pay murderers like this scumbag.

Kevydee: Cross your legs and crawl, put your hands in the air and crawl. F***ing how mate?

trumps_amygdala: if this was a black man the riots would be huge.

TitanZilla: Damn this is infuriating. They really need better or different psych exams on LEO’s.

tired-gardener: This cop is everything that is wrong with this country. I want to hear a “ blue lives matter”, supporter try to defend this bullshit.

Bizoza9: So the juxtaposition of “police risk their lives for you” and the way these cops shot and killed this guy because they were “in fear for their lives” really creates some conflicting logic.

The_All_Golden: That was horrifying. Cop was obviously itching to kill and purposely put the victim in a very stressful situation while having him perform complicated maneuvers just so he could empty his magazine into him the second he made a small error.

Unwoven_Sleeve: Why was his finger even on the trigger?
Why the f*** did they not realise he was drunk?
What was the point in executing him when he wasn’t even f***ing doing anything?
They treated the woman as a hostage, obviously lack of information takes some part in the outcome.
He literally begged not to be shot but the f***ers just executed him because they thought he was grabbing a gun, you think someone would be stupid enough to pull a gun when they have a rifle pointed at their head?
Another f***ing thing, you don’t need, to kill someone to stop them. A f***ing taser would’ve been fine, or a leg shot, or just shooting in the f***ing air would’ve stopped him. Violence isn’t a f***ing answer.
That negotiator/chief/squad leader whoever the f*** he was, was an idiot, he just assumed he was 100% able to follow his actions correctly.
Also, how the f*** do you expect him to kneel with his legs crossed when you just yelled KNEEL. Reminds me of Loki. Say slowly “now sir I’d like you to go into a kneeling position keeping your legs crossed” that would’ve worked fine.

annoyinglilbrother: This guy was found not guilty of murder. Let that sink in.

juddshanks: About midway through the video you realize there is no conceivable way that kid can make it out alive.

Put yourself in his position – if you are in a terrifying situation and someone is standing there yelling peremptory and confusing instructions at you for several minutes sooner or later you are going to get confused and make a mistake- in isolation they might sound like simple commands but when you add one after another in an absolutely terrifying and stressful situation eventually you are certain to mess one up.

That’s some of the most cowardly, brutally stupid, incompetent police work I’ve ever seen. The piece of work behind it deserves a life sentence.

HoundDogs: Be drunk. Invited to play game. Simon Says mixed with Russian Roulette and a poorly trained, rabid, macho asshat with absolutely no situational awareness whatsoever.

>Simon Says hands up

Puts hands up

>Simon says get on knees

Gets on knees

>Simon says follow my instructions or you will be shot.

Drunkenly realize you may never see children again and begin to cry in terror.

>Simon says lay on the ground face down

lays on ground

>Simon says cross your fingers behind your head

Crosses fingers on top of head.

>Simon says cross your legs

Crosses legs.

>Simon says stand up

Stands up

>Simon says put your hands up

Puts hands up

>Simon says put your hands straight up or you will be shot

Puts hands straight up

>Simon says get down on hands and knees….forcing you to put your hands down contracting previous command.

Crying and horrified beyond being able to function, gets on knees, puts hands down.

>Simon says crawl to him

Begins to crawl…pants falling down… instinctively reach back to pull up shorts.

Get shot. Lose game.

Simon didn’t say.

OpossumManEater: Damn the guy started panicking and sobbing when the officer kept escalating.

I have no idea how one can shoot a weeping man to death, he was clearly terrified.

As a Christian, I know for certain the murderer will not escape judgement.

>Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

— Romans 12:19

So f***ing sad he left behind two daughters. At least the cop was fired albeit for a shitty reason. Hope he realizes that he robbed two children of their father to murder a weeping man on his knees. This is the stuff God absolutely detests, he will not escape judgement though he evaded earthly judges, he wont escape the heavenly one.

cunolle: WTF. How was that guy a threat in any sense.

z0di4k: Why did he move his right arm like that? I can honestly say it does look like he’s reaching back for something. But u had him scared and he willingly crossed his own hands and feet together. You would think at this point other officers would then go grab him. WTF

EccerPrimrose: “keep your hands up!” “crawl towards me!” ??????

ScarredWolf1: If there is anyone who thinks this shooting is ok. You are Sick in the head and it should have been You

Nuggburner: This is real? They sound like f***ing neckbeards pussys, that one dipshit couldn’t figure out how to open a door? Cross your legs and crawl? How the f*** is that possible? That was murder.. and the people who killed him are untrained rent a cops wannabes

raycharlespride: Some of those positions are not easy to do. I got arressted in pcb,fl and I was dehydrated as f***. When I got my instructions to cross my legs and move, I had a Charlie horse. Worst shit ever.

monkey-see-doggy-do: Is he going to prison? Please tell me he is going to prison in general population.

fromskintoliquid: The incompetence they demonstrate just trying to open the door at the end shows clearly these guys are not capable of being cops. Jesus. F***ing. Christ. Can’t use a keycard, better give these guys guns and make them judge, jury, and executioner.

tres3tres: “Keep your hands up or you will get shot. If you’re going to fall, you’d better fall on your face. Now crawl toward me…”

WTF How are you supposed to crawl with your hands up?

vikrual: But, but… he is white! That doesn’t happen to white people!

Oh…wait…

Forderva: This is the gofundme page if anyone is interested. Made by his wife. He left her and their two daughters behind.
https://www.gofundme.com/danielmemorialfund

FreedomFromIgnorance: Wow, just wow.

DrMantisTobogan9784: whats the back story here? why were they called to the room?

circaATL: WTF did I just watch. So f***ing unnecessary and unreal. What was the reason for shooting and killing him? Stumbling while receiving confusing and terrifying directions. What a piece of garbage.

jdr420777: Theres no “removing guns” only removing from gun stores. Criminals will still be able to find guns very very easily on the black market. Too many guns in circulation to just “remove them” lmao if unicorns and fairies existed maybe we could do that. what we need a better way to actually enforce existing gun laws.

c0urso: It was an execution.

paidthecosttobethebo: They need ARs for regular duty?

redwormcharlie: After seeing too many videos of cops shooting people on the ground, I wonder if the best way to handle it even if they are barking commands is to just lay on your belly, hands and legs sprawled out, and don’t f***ing move, in any way. Can they shoot you for not moving at all? Probably.

EDIT: As much as we see trigger happy cops, and I am not excusing the actions of the cops, but why the f*** did this guy keep trying to pull his pants up? Oh well, if he was Black there would be media outrage, but nope, just another dead white guy so nothing to see here folks!

HoundDogs: Here’s a nice video you should hear. This cop, and the police department involved in his training and the toxic culture they created, deserve to hear this recording played on loop for the rest of their lives.

https://www.facebook.com/JusticeForDaniel/videos/1733209070236091/

Ever since this video was published this morning, I just can’t get this out of my head. This is not justice.

killthemessenger2017: Several strange aspects to the aftermath:

-no commotion or emotion

-police try and open room 500 with a card key – but Shaver was in 502

-Shaver hit near the wall with five rounds, and yet not a speck of blood, let alone blood splatter or bullet holes on the wall.

facereplacer3: That cop needs to have the same thing happen to him. What an asshole.

PugFan1982: Remember: The cop who did this is not one of the “few bad apples”. If you think you know a “good cop,” go ahead and ask them about what they think of this situation. 99% chance the best you’ll get is some version of “Well, um, I don’t think the officer reacted in the best possible way, but you know, in a stressful situation, you need to….blah blah blah”.

scaredshtlessintx: Hope he enjoys his paid vacation and reassignment…f***ing murderer

coquinaa: NWA was right. F*** the police

dontwantablowjob: F*** me, I am actually lost for words here. What a bunch of absolute f***wits who are seemingly the most incompetent rabble of idiots to ever put on a police uniform. Unbelievable. Lock them all up

aquariuskiller: The family of the killer actually defended the dirty foo on Daniel Shaver’s wife’s facebook page. Just adding salt to the wound

LeBlight: At least the shithead cop got canned from the Force. Consolation prize unfortunately.

AntiSocialBlogger: For some reason this looks fake to me and I can’t quite figure out why?

CaptKamClique: Motherf*** those cops! They had that guy crawling and crying and then they kill him? I hope that cop gets taken out after he comes out from the rock he is hiding under.

Deaconblues18: This is unf***ing believable. That is Cold Blooded Murder.

cosmicmailman: Bastards. Cowards. Murderers.

Lyra_Fairview: I have never been so shocked in my entire life. When the shots were fired I literally got tremors. F***ING HELL.

Jabroni77: I couldn’t agree more

ASaDouche: The hell did I just watch

showmeurboobsplznthx: I’d like to put the cop in the same position.

Jesse1472: Have you ever been in or know anyone who has been in that situation? Thinks movie pretty fast as soon as someone pulls a gun. If they had to wait for a proper identification of a gun they could have had a wounded team member or worse. Let’s say he pulled a black flashlight and pointed it at the cops you would still be pissed off because “how couldn’t they tell the difference between a gun and a flashlight”.

potatosurplus: I know this is going to be unpopular, but I do think we need to look at this from both sides. Why do people do the exact opposite of what a police officer who is pointing a gun at them says repeatedly and telling them they will shoot and kill? Imagine being a police officer [in this scenario](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=884W4l3eoQg). I would be terrified. This is what they train for. With that said, the way they handled this situation was awful all the way down to not being able to breach the room with the room key. They tell him to put his hands up and don’t let them fall to the ground but then ask him to crawl to them? Like that is some Simon Says shenanigans. Kid reached behind his back and looks like something drops in front of him out of his hands maybe. IMO the system is messed up. This should not be the go-to method of approach here. They could have easily tasered him from where they were at and then approached him when he was incapacitated. Bad day for both parties. I don’t think any of these people find joy in killing a kid crying. The guy with the body camera is breathing pretty heavy the whole time. Hard to watch.

exicleus: The kid reached behind his back, then put his hands behind his back and reached for his hip while crawling right before he was shot.

He did not follow directions. They also told him if he lowered his hands that he would be shot and then the kid proceeds to lower his hands.

Once you see this it’s extremely obvious. Follow f***ing directions.