Mesa police released several reports and hundreds of photos connected to the officer involved shooting at a La Quinta Inn back in January. Officer Philip Brailsford has been charged with second degree murder in the death of Daniel Shaver.
Police also released interviews conducted with witnesses a short time after the shooting. Shaver was in his room with Luis Nunez and Monique Portillo prior to the shooting.
“He invited us up for a drink,” said Nunez during a police interview.
According to Nunez and Portillo, Shaver would then show them his air-soft pellet rifle he used to shoot birds for work.
“He’s like the gun is right here do you want to see it,” Nunez said.
Police said Shaver or Nunez pointed the pellet rifle out an open window and that guests saw it and became scared. Officers were dispatched to the hotel and made contact with Shaver using a hotel phone.
Nunez had since left the room but Portillo and Shaver were still inside. Police ordered them to come out one at a time.
“I came out and they were like get down, yada, yada,” Portillo said.
According to the reports officers made Portillo crawl on her knees toward officers keeping her hands in the air. Police then told Shaver to do the same thing.
“They were yelling at him,” Portillo said.
As Shaver was making his way down the hallway Brailsford said he was not following commands and repeatedly put his hands behind his back. According to the reports, officers warned Shaver to keep his hands up.
“I heard him say, 'please don’t shoot,' he was crying for his life and then they shot him,” Portillo said.
She goes on to tell police that Shaver was intoxicated and that once he was shot she turned away.
“I don’t know what he did but cops shot him,” Portillo said.
Brailsford has always maintained he feared for his life and thought Shaver was reaching for a weapon when he “quickly” moved his hands behind his back toward his waistband.
The shooting captured on Brailsford’s body camera is one of the key pieces of evidence that has not been released. County Attorney Bill Montgomery says releasing it could taint a potential jury pool.
The widow of Daniel Shaver, Laney Sweet, has also been denied access to the video after meeting with Montgomery a couple weeks ago.
“In order for me to watch it I was going to be silenced,” said Sweet in a video posted on her Facebook Page.
Sweet says Montgomery refused to let her see it unless she would insure him that she would not share her feelings or what she saw with the media. At one point during the secretly taped meeting you can hear her former attorney Marc Victor ask Montgomery what she can say and even suggested some things if she does watch it.
In the end Montgomery denied Sweet access to the video. Sweet has since taken to social media demanding the video be released. Sweet is upset that an apparent plea deal has been offered to Brailsford that could spare him from doing any jail time.
Among the photos released to the media on Tuesday are Brailsford’s rifle, Shaver’s shirt and shorts he was wearing when shot and the pellet rifle he had.
12 News and other media outlets have requested the body camera video be released and will continue to pursue access to the video.