Mesa to Settle With Parents Whose Son Was Killed by Officer

PHOENIX (AP) — The parents of a Texas man fatally shot five years ago by a Mesa police officer at an Arizona hotel has agreed to settle their legal claims against the city over their son’s death.

The Arizona Republic reports that the city has declined to reveal how much it will pay to settle the lawsuit over the 2016 shooting death of 26-year-old Daniel Shaver of Granbury, Texas.

Then-Officer Philip Brailsford shot Shaver as Shaver lay on the ground outside his hotel room and was ordered to crawl toward officers.

Brailsford was charged with murder in Shaver’s death, but a jury acquitted him of the charge.

The newspaper reported that the city and police officers settled with Shaver’s parents on May 28 but have failed to reach an agreement with Shaver’s widow, Laney Sweet, and two children, court documents show.

Mesa refused to provide the settlement amount with Shaver’s parents until it “finalizes the full terms of the settlement.”

Sweet filed a lawsuit in 2017 seeking $75 million in damages, alleging Shaver had not provoked the killing and the event could have been avoided if officers had investigated more.

Sweet, in a statement emailed to The Republic, said she looks forward to a trial date.

The U.S. Department of Justice opened a civil-rights violation investigation against Brailsford. The Mesa Police Department in March 2018 said the DOJ had subpoenaed the department for all documents about the January 2016 shooting.

Results from that investigation have not been released.

Mesa initially fired Brailsford, but he was later rehired to apply for a pension and then took medical retirement.

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