PHOENIX (AP) - An Oct. 23 trial has been set for a former police officer charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed man at a Mesa hotel.
Former Mesa Officer Philip Brailsford, 26, has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge in the January 2016 death of Daniel Shaver.
Shaver was shot as he lay on the ground outside his hotel room and was ordered to crawl toward officers.
Officers say they believed Shaver, who tearfully pleaded with officers not to kill him, was reaching for a gun.
Shaver wasn't armed when he was approached by officers but had two pellet guns in his room as part of his pest-control job.
Brailsford was later fired for violations of departmental policy.
Shaver's widow and parents have filed wrongful-death lawsuits.
