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"Please Don't Shoot Me," Man Begged Before Cop Shot and Killed Him

Nilly

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This incident happened a few months ago so apologies if it has already been covered, but news of it has flared up today as the police report has become public. It can be found here

Articles:
Texas man fatally shot by Mesa officer begged for life
Daniel Shaver update: Officer Philip Brailsford describes moments before he fatally shot unarmed man - ABC15 Arizona

A Texas man fatally shot by a Mesa police officer in January was heard begging for his life moments before his death, according to a police report released Tuesday morning.

A witness and a transcription of officer video footage describe Daniel Shaver saying “Please don’t shoot me” and “Please don’t shoot,” just before an officer later identified as Philip "Mitch" Brailsford fired his service weapon.

Brailsford has been charged with second-degree murder and terminated from the Mesa Police Department.

Absolutely terrifying that all it takes is a cop with an itchy trigger finger and boom. That's it, life's over. Brailsford's dept issued gun was found to have "You're F-----" inscribed on it.

Shaver was crying on his hands and knees and following police instructions to crawl towards them, when one of the officers seemed to judge that he was going for a weapon and shot him five times.

“The movement of SHAVER’s right arm in the recording was a very similar motion to someone drawing a pistol from their waist band,” the report reads. However, it continues, “SHAVER’s underwear were clearly visible and it appeared his shorts had fallen partially down his leg at that point. SHAVER’s motion was also consistent with attempting to pull his shorts up as they were falling off.”

A judge has ordered that the police bodycams of the instance not be released to the public. Whilst the officer in question has been charged with second degree murder, talks are ongoing for a plea deal for negligent homicide.

My thoughts:
1) Why did they not do a search of him the moment he was on the ground? Is normal police procedure to have them crawl around like dogs before bothering to search them for weapons?
2) Shaver did everything the police asked him (except try to pull up his pants) yet was still shot. That's terrifying. Why did they not cuff him?
3) Why does shoot first, ask questions later seem to be a prevailing method amongst US police?
4) Shaver was white, so obviously a case of police brutality not pertaining to African Americans, and hasn't seen quite the spotlight of other incidents.
 
This incident happened a few months ago so apologies if it has already been covered, but news of it has flared up today as the police report has become public. It can be found here

Articles:
Texas man fatally shot by Mesa officer begged for life
Daniel Shaver update: Officer Philip Brailsford describes moments before he fatally shot unarmed man - ABC15 Arizona



Absolutely terrifying that all it takes is a cop with an itchy trigger finger and boom. That's it, life's over. Brailsford's dept issued gun was found to have "You're F-----" inscribed on it.

Shaver was crying on his hands and knees and following police instructions to crawl towards them, when one of the officers seemed to judge that he was going for a weapon and shot him five times.

“The movement of SHAVER’s right arm in the recording was a very similar motion to someone drawing a pistol from their waist band,” the report reads. However, it continues, “SHAVER’s underwear were clearly visible and it appeared his shorts had fallen partially down his leg at that point. SHAVER’s motion was also consistent with attempting to pull his shorts up as they were falling off.”

A judge has ordered that the police bodycams of the instance not be released to the public. Whilst the officer in question has been charged with second degree murder, talks are ongoing for a plea deal for negligent homicide.

My thoughts:
1) Why did they not do a search of him the moment he was on the ground? Is normal police procedure to have them crawl around like dogs before bothering to search them for weapons?
2) Shaver did everything the police asked him (except try to pull up his pants) yet was still shot. That's terrifying. Why did they not cuff him?
3) Why does shoot first, ask questions later seem to be a prevailing method amongst US police?
4) Shaver was white, so obviously a case of police brutality not pertaining to African Americans, and hasn't seen quite the spotlight of other incidents.

This is exactly the sort of case that should get media attention. Some people need it to happen to a white guy to admit there's a problem.
 
This is exactly the sort of case that should get media attention. Some people need it to happen to a white guy to admit there's a problem.

Sue the city for the release of the videos
 
Sue the city for the release of the videos

Nonsense. They can't until the trial is done. Your need to be titillated and part of the chattering class does not outweigh the accused right to an impartial trial.

As to the number one question in the OP, every department has it's own felony stop procedure. Unless you follow it to the tee every stop (even when it doesn't make perfect sense to do so), the department will not protect you if something goes awry.
 
Nonsense. They can't until the trial is done. Your need to be titillated and part of the chattering class does not outweigh the accused right to an impartial trial.

As to the number one question in the OP, every department has it's own felony stop procedure. Unless you follow it to the tee every stop (even when it doesn't make perfect sense to do so), the department will not protect you if something goes awry.
Missed that part, thought he was not charged. my error.
 
There was one on the forums a while back where there was an armed home invasion.
The husband in the house was able to get the guy pinned down and the wife was telling 911 that her husband had control and was on top the perp. She kept repeating it.
The cops came in, saw a guy with a gun on top another guy, and filled him full of holes.

Tragic on top of tragic.

The question is, do you want cops to be armed or not? You will have tragedies, but does it save more lives than takes, and is that equitable.
 
This incident happened a few months ago so apologies if it has already been covered, but news of it has flared up today as the police report has become public. It can be found here

Articles:
Texas man fatally shot by Mesa officer begged for life
Daniel Shaver update: Officer Philip Brailsford describes moments before he fatally shot unarmed man - ABC15 Arizona



Absolutely terrifying that all it takes is a cop with an itchy trigger finger and boom. That's it, life's over. Brailsford's dept issued gun was found to have "You're F-----" inscribed on it.

Shaver was crying on his hands and knees and following police instructions to crawl towards them, when one of the officers seemed to judge that he was going for a weapon and shot him five times.

“The movement of SHAVER’s right arm in the recording was a very similar motion to someone drawing a pistol from their waist band,” the report reads. However, it continues, “SHAVER’s underwear were clearly visible and it appeared his shorts had fallen partially down his leg at that point. SHAVER’s motion was also consistent with attempting to pull his shorts up as they were falling off.”

A judge has ordered that the police bodycams of the instance not be released to the public. Whilst the officer in question has been charged with second degree murder, talks are ongoing for a plea deal for negligent homicide.

My thoughts:
1) Why did they not do a search of him the moment he was on the ground? Is normal police procedure to have them crawl around like dogs before bothering to search them for weapons?
2) Shaver did everything the police asked him (except try to pull up his pants) yet was still shot. That's terrifying. Why did they not cuff him?
3) Why does shoot first, ask questions later seem to be a prevailing method amongst US police?
4) Shaver was white, so obviously a case of police brutality not pertaining to African Americans, and hasn't seen quite the spotlight of other incidents.

You understand that anyone can commit murder, right?
 
You understand that anyone can commit murder, right?

Of course I understand that.

I also generally understand that should I cooperate and follow the police's instructions there should be no chance of me being killed. Even if I am committing a crime, my assumption was that everyone in the US has right to fair trial, and not to just be shot whilst crawling on my hands and knees.
 
Of course I understand that.

I also generally understand that should I cooperate and follow the police's instructions there should be no chance of me being killed. Even if I am committing a crime, my assumption was that everyone in the US has right to fair trial, and not to just be shot whilst crawling on my hands and knees.

There's your problem. You simply find reality offensive and therefore demand someone do something (who knows what), to fix it. The fact of the matter is that there are evil people out there who commit terrible crimes. The fact is that police departments can't see into the hearts of men to know if they would do things like this. That's the cold hard reality and no amount of whining will change it. Seriously, what do you propose be done?
 
Sue the city for the release of the videos
Without the video all we have are accounts. If it is as the police described it, Im sure people would have to agree that the shooting would be as justified as the Lavoy Finicum shooting in Oregon.
 
There's your problem. You simply find reality offensive and therefore demand someone do something (who knows what), to fix it. The fact of the matter is that there are evil people out there who commit terrible crimes. The fact is that police departments can't see into the hearts of men to know if they would do things like this. That's the cold hard reality and no amount of whining will change it. Seriously, what do you propose be done?

Except other police forces round the world don't have this same problem.

By the numbers: US police kill more in days than other countries do in years | US news | The Guardian
http://www.newsweek.com/police-norway-havent-killed-anyone-nearly-10-years-359074

Some countries (e.g. UK) don't have an armed police force which means police kill fewer people. Other countries do have armed police yet they still don't kill anywhere near as many as we do. So what's your explanation for that? Can european police forces look into the hearts of men and know if they would do things like this and preemptively prevent them from become armed police? Or maybe they just train their police forces better, in a culture where shoot first ask questions later is discouraged.

For the record, I don't think that the officer in question in the OP is evil. I think he was dumb and stupid and maybe even unlucky. Evil? Nope. I don't attribute something to malice when incompetence explains the outcome just as well.
 
This incident happened a few months ago so apologies if it has already been covered, but news of it has flared up today as the police report has become public. It can be found here

Articles:
Texas man fatally shot by Mesa officer begged for life
Daniel Shaver update: Officer Philip Brailsford describes moments before he fatally shot unarmed man - ABC15 Arizona



Absolutely terrifying that all it takes is a cop with an itchy trigger finger and boom. That's it, life's over. Brailsford's dept issued gun was found to have "You're F-----" inscribed on it.

Shaver was crying on his hands and knees and following police instructions to crawl towards them, when one of the officers seemed to judge that he was going for a weapon and shot him five times.

“The movement of SHAVER’s right arm in the recording was a very similar motion to someone drawing a pistol from their waist band,” the report reads. However, it continues, “SHAVER’s underwear were clearly visible and it appeared his shorts had fallen partially down his leg at that point. SHAVER’s motion was also consistent with attempting to pull his shorts up as they were falling off.”

A judge has ordered that the police bodycams of the instance not be released to the public. Whilst the officer in question has been charged with second degree murder, talks are ongoing for a plea deal for negligent homicide.

My thoughts:
1) Why did they not do a search of him the moment he was on the ground? Is normal police procedure to have them crawl around like dogs before bothering to search them for weapons?
2) Shaver did everything the police asked him (except try to pull up his pants) yet was still shot. That's terrifying. Why did they not cuff him?
3) Why does shoot first, ask questions later seem to be a prevailing method amongst US police?
4) Shaver was white, so obviously a case of police brutality not pertaining to African Americans, and hasn't seen quite the spotlight of other incidents.

I would think that they should have instructed him to NOT go near his pants AND give him time to respond before shooting.

Without the video, i'm not sure what happened. Could go either way, really.
 
I would think that they should have instructed him to NOT go near his pants AND give him time to respond before shooting.

Without the video, i'm not sure what happened. Could go either way, really.

I don't understand how the situation could have got to the point where this man is on his hands and knees crawling towards the police. I'm not expert on law enforcement protocol/procedure, but surely if there is a possibility he had a gun they should have him on the floor with his hands behind his head, at which point they approach him and pat him down/cuff him. He was cooperating, so I don't see a reason why he wouldn't have adhered to that request.

A complete **** up by the entire police dept, in my opinion. You're right about the video though. Will be interesting to see if it is ever released.
 
I don't understand how the situation could have got to the point where this man is on his hands and knees crawling towards the police. I'm not expert on law enforcement protocol/procedure, but surely if there is a possibility he had a gun they should have him on the floor with his hands behind his head, at which point they approach him and pat him down/cuff him. He was cooperating, so I don't see a reason why he wouldn't have adhered to that request.

A complete **** up by the entire police dept, in my opinion. You're right about the video though. Will be interesting to see if it is ever released.

Yup, exactly. The perp should be provided unambiguous instruction that does not allow such a situation to escalate any further.
 
Except other police forces round the world don't have this same problem.

By the numbers: US police kill more in days than other countries do in years | US news | The Guardian
http://www.newsweek.com/police-norway-havent-killed-anyone-nearly-10-years-359074

Some countries (e.g. UK) don't have an armed police force which means police kill fewer people. Other countries do have armed police yet they still don't kill anywhere near as many as we do. So what's your explanation for that? Can european police forces look into the hearts of men and know if they would do things like this and preemptively prevent them from become armed police? Or maybe they just train their police forces better, in a culture where shoot first ask questions later is discouraged.

For the record, I don't think that the officer in question in the OP is evil. I think he was dumb and stupid and maybe even unlucky. Evil? Nope. I don't attribute something to malice when incompetence explains the outcome just as well.

And now you're changing the subject, in typical leftist fashion.

Is the topic you want discuss shootings by the police in general, or murders committed by police officers?
 
And now you're changing the subject, in typical leftist fashion.

Is the topic you want discuss shootings by the police in general, or murders committed by police officers?

The point stands for either. More shootings by the police translates into a trigger happy culture which develops into more dead civilians. Thought you were smart enough to make the connection.
 
This is exactly the sort of case that should get media attention. Some people need it to happen to a white guy to admit there's a problem.

It happens to white guys all the time. It happened to an unarmed white kid named Dillon Taylor was shot about two days after Michael Brown and he didn't even get into a fight with the police officer. It's all on video and yet no indictment was handed out there, either. This narrative that it's just a racial thing is a complete and utter fabrication.
 
The point stands for either. More shootings by the police translates into a trigger happy culture which develops into more dead civilians. Thought you were smart enough to make the connection.

No, you don't seem to understand. A shooting in cold blood is not equivalent to a shooting in self-defense.
 
...and some say we don't have a police state here in the US...:roll:
 
No, you don't seem to understand. A shooting in cold blood is not equivalent to a shooting in self-defense.

I'm sure the people who got shot would disagree with the people doing the shooting in many cases here. Like the one in OP.

The point is, which you are skirting, is that police kill an unacceptable amount of civilians here. And that's not because of some 'heart of darkness in humanity' BS. Otherwise other countries would have the same epidemic.
 
I'm sure the people who got shot would disagree with the people doing the shooting in many cases here. Like the one in OP.

The point is, which you are skirting, is that police kill an unacceptable amount of civilians here. And that's not because of some 'heart of darkness in humanity' BS. Otherwise other countries would have the same epidemic.
Our higher crime rates and higher police shooting rates are do to ethnic tension, that doesn't exist in Europe.

And again, self-defense isn't equivalent to murder, no matter how much you wish it were.
 
Our higher crime rates and higher police shooting rates are do to ethnic tension, that doesn't exist in Europe.

Hah. Of course it doesn't. Anyway, its quite clear that this is an issue that happens with white people as well as black people. In fact, more white people are shot by police than black people (although less per capita). Do you really think that the amount of police shootings is just down to ethnic tension? That's going to be a large part of it but there's quite clearly something more than that, even if you want to gloss over it.

And again, self-defense isn't equivalent to murder, no matter how much you wish it were.

Self defense is subjective, based up on the defenders point of view. The policeman in this case thought he was acting in self defense, but really he wasn't under any threat. That happens all the time.
 
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