US cop fired over deadly shooting 'rehired to get pension'

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Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Daniel Shaver was unarmed when he was shot

A US police officer who was fired after shooting dead an unarmed man was temporarily rehired so he could apply for a pension, local media report.

Philip Brailsford, 28, killed 26-year-old Daniel Shaver in the hallway of an Arizona hotel in early 2016.

He was fired and charged with murder - but was acquitted at trial in 2017.

Records show that he was briefly rehired last year so he could apply for a lifetime pension worth more than $2,500 (£2,000) a month.

The move meant he could be medically retired - rather than fired - which made him eligible for the pension.

"He was eligible for retirement benefits, so he applied for them," local official Chris Brady told ABC News. He added that Mr Brailsford had submitted a claim of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in connection with the shooting.

Image copyright Mesa Police Department Image caption Philip Brailsford was found not guilty of murder in December 2017

The former officer signed an agreement with city officials that allowed him to apply for an accidental disability pension and medical retirement, the Mesa Police Department said.

Records, seen by the Arizona Republic newspaper, show that Mr Brailsford was reinstated for 42 days last August so he could make the application.

"[He] was not in any way fulfilling a capacity as a police officer" during this time, a police spokesman told the newspaper.

Mr Shaver was confronted by police responding to a report of a man pointing a gun out of a hotel room window in January 2016.

Image copyright Shaver family photo Image caption Daniel Shaver was shot five times by police

Bodycam footage of the incident, released after Mr Brailsford was acquitted, showed Mr Shaver on his knees asking officers not to shoot him.

But he was shot five times with a semi-automatic rifle as he crawled towards the officers while sobbing.

Lawyers argued that Mr Brailsford had responded appropriately, according to his training, when Mr Shaver reached towards his waistband - because he believed there was a concealed firearm there.

No weapon was found on the body, but Mr Bailsford said he believed Mr Shaver was reaching for one.

The police report said the victim had shown guests in his hotel room a rifle he used for work.

It later emerged that the rifle was an airsoft or pellet gun, rather than a genuine firearm.

charlie71_ on July 20th, 2019 at 14:02 UTC »

Arizona here. A large amount of constitutes have bombed Governor Ducey to try to have this issue addressed. Tax payers are pretty pissed about this.

NlghtmanCometh on July 20th, 2019 at 14:01 UTC »

"Police Sergeant Charles Langley then ordered Shaver, who was laying prone, to cross his legs. Moments later, he ordered Shaver to push himself 'up to a kneeling position.' While complying with the order to kneel, Shaver uncrossed his legs and Langley shouted that Shaver needed to keep his legs crossed. Startled, Shaver then put his hands behind his back and was again warned by Langley to keep his hands in the air. Langley yelled at Shaver that if he deviated from police instructions again, they would shoot him. Sergeant Langley told Shaver not to put his hands down for any reason. Shaver said 'Please don't shoot me'. Upon being instructed to crawl, Shaver put his hands down and crawled on all fours. While crawling towards the officers, Shaver paused and moved his right hand towards his waistband. Officer Philip Brailsford, who later testified he believed that Shaver was reaching for a weapon, then opened fire with his AR-15 rifle, striking Shaver five times and killing him almost instantly. Shaver was unarmed, and may have been attempting to prevent his shorts from slipping down. An autopsy report found that Shaver was intoxicated, with a blood-alcohol level over three times the legal driving limit, which police stated may have contributed to his confused response to their commands" (from Wikipedia).

For fucks sake that is absolutely horrifying.

kapanenship on July 20th, 2019 at 12:56 UTC »

His own father was a voting board member in the decision to allow for his pension. They are both POS.