[Publisher’s Note: The previous article fragment appended to this video, from CBSNews.com, mistakenly attributed the commands to Brailsford. They in fact came from Sgt. Charles Langely. Thank you to W.J. for alerting me to this discrepancy.]
The shooting, by Philip “Mitch” Brailsford, then an officer with the Mesa Police Department, 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 had met earlier that day and showing off a pellet gun he used in 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 commands from multiple officers. The video was shown in court during the trial, but it was released to the public after jurors acquitted Brailsford on Thursday.
After entering the hallway, Shaver immediately puts his hands in the air and lies 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?” Sgt. Charles Langley yells before telling Shaver to “shut up.”
“I’m not here to be tactical and diplomatic with you. You listen. You obey,” the officer says.
I must say 16 years in law enforcement and this was not a life threatening situation for this officer, I’m really surprised he didn’t get indicted for shooting this kid.
He did get indicted, but he was not convicted. I tell this to all who are willing to hear. When it comes to justice in OIS and non-fatal police brutality (misconduct), and unauthorized force, JUSTICE IS NOT TO BE EXPECTED! I say again JUSTICE IS NOT TO BE EXPECTED. Most that can be expected is a loss of a job, and perhaps , on a good day, a nomial jail sentence, which is then stayed. That is why I, and others, consider municipal police (country and below) a threat to life, safety, and liberty of US Citizens. I am sorry to say, but the only justice families of victims of police brutality, can expect is extra-judicial. Extra-judicial justice, is not justice, in fact on paper it is illegal. But it is all we got. Until we get death penalty for cops who murder in line of duty, as for those who murder cops in line of duty, there will be no justice for victims of police illegal UOF.
Why not just strip all the rights from anyone that murders about her person in cold blood and let true Justice balance it out? I wouldhave just laod on the floor and refused to move until more cops got there. More cops less likly he will feel it ok to go too far.
I urge you, and others, to listen to entire Shaver incident. Easily found in its entirety on YT. There were 5 officers on this response. The shooter was not alone. He was not even one shouting incoherent instructions. That was done his supervisor,a 20 year veteran sergeant. The sgt was incoherent, cruel, angry, and incompetent to the frigging core. Try the following;
-Laydown on carpeted floor face down, arms and legs out.
-Cross your legs, left over right, and lock your hands behind you head. Continue to face down. Do not look up or to the sides.
-Now keeping legs crossed, hands locked behind head, face down, crawl forward. You’ll find that it is next to impossible.
-Now lock hands, splay them to the sideas, as front leaning rest. Keep legs crossed. While keeping legs crossed, and head down, push up with arms to assume standing on your knees. LEGS CROSSED! Do not uncross your legs. Make a tinyest error and you will be shot.
The instructions given by the response team leader , to the victim(then suspect) were incoherent, and intended to achieve a situation where shooting was , in his mind, ‘justifiable’. This is murder, plain and simple. This is modern LEO! These are your ‘brothers’ doing this. This incident was not just a tragedy, it was murder, carried by gang thuggish ‘bad’ cops
Brailsford, the shooter , was indicted on murder2, but was found not guilty. A gross, perverse , miscarriage of justice , based ona singular fact that the perps were on-duty police officers.
The Mesa PD Sgt. Langley, who shouted commands, and is as culpable for murder of Mr. Shaver as former ofc. Brailsford. What happened to him. He was the man in charge. It was his responsibility. Three months after the murder of Shaver, former sgt. Langley retired promptly. Te emptied his bank account, liquidated his property, and promptly left the country for Philippines. Likely as a hedge, should he be indicted in the future, and definitely to protect himself from civil liability. An LEO of twenty some years, and his incompetence and ultimate cowardice, on full display. “Tried by twelve rather then carried by six” meme, is lip service. When time comes for twelve part, they run away. This is the state of American municipal LEO, today.
Shaver shoot, is why we need to disband municipal police forces, as presently constituted, and re-constitute the force , that is guided by Law, US Constitution, and common frigging sense. Right now, the American LEO is too dangerous to patrol. LEO profession today is a threat to life , liberty, and property of U.S. Citizens and legal residents. The profession is an enemy, even if its members deny it, if only to themselves.
This situation, and its result is why I just despise law enforcement as a profession. You are murderers and you get away with it despite all the evidence. So I am not surprised that LEOs are hated, ambushed, and very rarely killed, and neither should you. The hate, vengeance, extra-judicial retaliation against the cops by citizens. You deserve it. All of it, every bit of hatered and shed LEO blood. You deserve it!
I think we are reaching, if not already reached, an inflection point . Regarding municipal police UOF, murdering innocent citizens and getting away with it. Marching and protests don’t work. Criminal prosecutions don’t yield convictions despite clear evidence. Police leadership is not restraining their subordinates. Civil lawsuits are paid by cities and do not effect police agencies. Training is producing lethaly dangerous police officer who abuse, degrade, humiliate suspects , then murder them anyway. Officers are stupid, cruel, cowardly, liers. Nothing is working. Our municipal law enforcement has turned into oppressive murderous occupation force with “Comply or die” doctrine guiding their actions. Time for active resistance has now been achieved. This is the tragic situation we find ourselves in. When a cop can execute a crying pleading, unarmed, prone suspect and not be guilty of murder, it is time to fight back. Tooth, claw, and nail. The tree of liberty is crying for blood of oppressors to water it. So we either disarm the LEO or they will sooner or later disarm and murder us. This is partially our fault. Through 60’s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 20s , minorities were crying and complaining of police brutality, police murderING their families, officers perjurING themselves. We, Americans, did not beleive them. We elevated the LEO ,and allowed him freedom to abuse, and kill almost at will. Now we are reaping the result of this misplaced trust, violated by LEOs across more then 4 decades. Time to fight, to fight back.The LEO betrayed us, and our loved ones were planted as a result. We need to stand down the agencies , and have a new model of law enforcement and public safety. This one is burying our families in most cruel ways.
If police officers refuse to stand down, then it is our civic duty to put them down.
Charming, and no. Jury got it wrong, or it was tampered with. Probably the later, and probably by the Mesa Police Association , going by their actions. This was a deliberate execution, murder, a snuff film, staged and filmed by phsycotic LEOs , playing a morbid game of Simon Says. This was the worst example of willfull misconduct, masquerading as incompetence. The supervisor shouting the commands, was forced to retire three months into investigation, which found shoouting unjustified leading to Murder 2 charge for shooter. The supervisory sgt. Langley, immediately, after forced retirement, cleaned out his accountss, liquidated his property, and moved to Phillipines. He knew the score. Langley should have been tried alongside shooter for Murder 2. His culpability probably strips him of qualified immunity. So he ran. He did return , for a short time, to give testimony. Having changed his appearance, by bleaching his hair and newly grown beard. One cop a coward, the other a murderer. On the same team, at same department. What are the chances? Sad reality, is that this what American LEO has become. A murderous phsycotics, led by moral cowards. Protected by compromised CJS biased and stacked towards LEO.
Good commands by the supervisor, bad shooting by the cop, but I was wasnt there.
Jury found him not guilty. Some of you morons will want to chase the jury next.
Just a reminder to the law enforcement community in this Great United States.
http://philipbrailsford.com/
You, collectively the law enforcement profession, did this! You , LE profession, are responsible. In deed and in word. You, recruited him, you trained him, you tested him, you certified him, you armed him, you field trained him, you lead him, you put him in the front, and you defended him. Every man, and woman wearing a badge of law enforcement at county and municipality, is responsible for his actions. Some , more responsible then others. None of your hands are clean. You enabled his commitment of murder of an innocent american citizen. You, your bosses, your union reps., you. Not us. Us are on the receiving end of YOUR actions. It is your fault, and it will be you, eventually, who will have to answer for this atrocity! YOU! Sleep tight cupcakes.