On January 18, 2016, Daniel Leetin Shaver of Granbury, Texas was shot dead by police officer Philip Brailsford in the hallway of a La Quinta Inn & Suites hotel in Mesa, Arizona. Police were responding to a report that a rifle had been brandished at the window of Shaver's hotel room.
After the shooting, the rifle, which remained in the room, was determined to be a pellet gun. Following an investigation, Brailsford was charged with second-degree murder and a lesser manslaughter charge and found not guilty by a jury. Prosecutors argued the shooting was unjustified. In March 2018, it became known that the United States Department of Justice has reopened the case and is looking into a possible civil rights violation by Brailsford.
Brailsford was reinstated to the Mesa Police Department in August 2018, then over a month later was granted retirement on medical grounds, as well as a pension of $2,500 per month. Brailsford's lawyer has said that Brailsford suffered from post traumatic stress disorder due to his shooting of Shaver and the resultant criminal trial.
Full gallery and autopsy photos here.
