Philip Brailsford, Arizona police officer who shot unarmed man, briefly rehired in order to receive pension

Posted Fri at 9:11pm

Two years after he was fired for shooting an unarmed man in a hotel, an Arizona police officer was rehired for 42 days so that he could receive a special pension, America’s ABC News reports.

Officer Philip Brailsford, 28, shot 26-year-old Daniel Shaver in the hallway of a hotel in 2016.
Officers were called to the hotel with reports a man was pointing a rifle out a window. It was later revealed Mr Shaver had a pellet gun that he used for his pest-control work and was showing it to other guests in his room.
He did not have the gun when he was shot five times in the hallway with a semi-automatic weapon, and could be seen on bodycam footage begging officers not to fire as he followed their instructions.
Mr Brailsford was fired after the incident for violations of department policy and later charged with murder, but was acquitted at trial in 2017.
His lawyers argued he was responding appropriately according to his training, after Mr Shaver reached for his waistband.

PHOTO: Former Mesa police officer Philip Brailsford (L) during the murder trial. (AP: David Wallace/The Arizona Republic)

In 2018, Mr Brailsford signed an agreement with his former employer, the City of Mesa, that allowed him to be temporarily rehired, meaning he could apply for an accidental disability pension and medical retirement, according to ABC News.
The former police officer’s lawyer said Mr Brailsford had post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from the shooting of Mr Shaver and the subsequent criminal trial.
Due to the fact he is now technically retired rather than fired, he is eligible for a monthly payment of $3,660 for the rest of his life.
Mr Brailsford was not performing in any capacity as a police officer during the six weeks he was rehired, a police spokesperson told the Arizona Republic newspaper.