US policeman acquitted of killing unarmed man who begged for his life
Washington, US - Officials in the southwestern US state of Arizona released a graphic video on Friday showing an unarmed man sobbing and begging for his life moments before he was fatally shot by a police officer who was acquitted of murder.
It was the latest in a spate of killings that have prompted criminal charges against law enforcement officials.
Philip Brailsford, who shot and killed Daniel Shaver in the hallway of a hotel in January 2016, was acquitted of second-degree murder as well as reckless manslaughter by a jury on Thurs- day, according to USA Today.
Bodycam footage made public following the verdict showed Shaver, a married 26 year old father of two, on his knees complying with the officers’ instructions over the course of several minutes and saying, “Please don’t shoot me” and “Please don’t shoot.”
Shaver, who was inebriated, then appeared to reach to his back, possibly to pull up his shorts, before Brailsford fired five bullets at him with his AR-15 assault rifle.
A police report cited by local media said officers were re- sponding to a report of a man seen holding a gun from his fifth floor hotel room.
Shaver was found to be unarmed at the time he was shot, but officers discovered a pellet gun in his room, which he used for his job as a pest-control worker. His hotel stay was also due to work travel.