This Cop Is Getting $2,500 a Month Because Killing an Unarmed Man in a Hotel Hallway Gave Him PTSD

Phillip Brailsford was acquitted of murder for a shooting captured on video that subsequently drew national outrage. Now he's getting paid for it.

An Arizona cop acquitted of murder in 2017 for killing a man crawling on his knees, begging for his life, in a hotel hallway, was temporarily rehired by the city he worked for so that he could claim a disability pension and file for a medical retirement that will pay him more than $2,500 a month for the rest of his life.

Former Mesa Police Officer Philip Mitchell Brailsford drew national attention and outrage in December 2017 when a jury found him not guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Daniel Shaver. Brailsford shot Shaver in a confrontation in a hotel hallway in 2016 after police were called there by somebody who had seen Shaver holding a gun in his room.

The gun turned out to be a pellet gun, but police apparently didn't know that. During the response, police ordered Shaver, who was unarmed, out into the hallway on his knees and ordered him to crawl in their direction while keeping his hands up, and they continued to bark confusing orders at him. As Shaver, clearly terrified, attempted to comply, at one point he gestured behind himself, possibly to pull up his pants, and Brailsford immediately opened fire, killing him.

The shooting was captured on police body camera footage, but it wasn't released to the public until after the jury acquitted Brailsford. (You can watch the footage here.)

A jury might have decided not to convict Brailsford, but the Mesa Police Department fired him after the shooting for violations of department policy. That turned out not to be the end of Brailsford's career in Mesa. ABC15 in Arizona reports that Brailsford appealed his termination and arranged for a special deal with the city to be rehired temporarily so that he could apply for a disability pension and retire for medical reasons.

Here's the kicker: The justification for Brailsford's medical disability and retirement is a claim that he has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from shooting and killing Shaver and the resulting prosecution, one of Brailsford's lawyers told ABC15. This medical condition qualifies him for a monthly pension check of $2,569.21 for the rest of his life, which the taxpayers of Mesa are on the hook for. Brailsford is currently 28 years old. Furthermore, the City of Mesa agreed to spend up to $3 million to help Brailsford defend himself and pay lawsuit settlements.

The city has also agreed to give Brailsford a "neutral recommendation" for future employment references. Thank heavens for Google searches, right?

Read more about the shooting here. I predicted back in 2017 that Brailsford would try to get his job back. But I neglected to consider that he'd use the shooting to arrange for medical retirement.

Comments

[Longtobefree]

So he has a medical disability pension, yet is eligible for hire?
Old Billy was right - - - - -

[Last of the Shitlords]

This case reminds of an an episode of ‘The Practice’, where a cop makes a disability claim based on his job making him racist.

[68W58]

This is bad, and I don’t think the guy should get a penny, but the real outrage was that the police sergeant who was the one barking confusing and contradictory orders was able to retire with his pension and escape any responsibility for his part in the shooting. Even if you grant that the police had legitimate concerns about their safety in that situation it’s pretty clear that that individual had no clue what he was doing and he was in charge.

[Longtobefree]

Standard police policy is for one officer to yell "freeze" and the other to yell "show me your hands". That way you are not being compliant, and whatever follows is per standard policy.

[DFG]

Or you run over to him and start beating his brains out as he lies on the ground while screaming "Stop Resisting!"

[Still Curmudgeoned (Nunya)]

And if all else fails, just scream he's coming right for us!

[IceTrey]

Screaming gun also works even though it's clearly a phone.

[Cyto]

You guys kid, but 68W58 is right... that guy pretty much talked the junior officer into killing the guy. It was way, way worse than that chick who texted "just do it" and "get back in the car" to the guy who was trying to kill himself. He created a tense situation pretty much entirely out of whole cloth and then prodded his junior into opening fire on the first twitch.

I guarantee that absent a badge, that guy would have been on the hook for murder.

[C. S. P. Schofield]

Cops are indoctrinated in a ‘We are in a War Zone’ mentality by the entertainment industry and their own organizations, their Unions specifically included. That means they go into any situation already on edge, which makes for bad decisions.

Moreover the image of police as embattled heroes means that young men become cops because they like that image. So you get cops who think they are in the old UNTOUCHABLES tv series. As opposed to, say, Dragnet, which spent a lot of screen time with Friday talking calmly to people.

I don’t know how to fix this situation, but the problem is not the cops. They are a symptom.

[Crusty Juggler - Lawbertarian]

This guy looks like he should be portraying Logic in an Eminem video.

[Crusty Juggler - Lawbertarian]

I predicted back in 2017 that Brailsford would try to get his job back. But I neglected to consider that he'd use the shooting to arrange for medical retirement.

You need to work on that imagination, Sock.

[Rhayader]

"Thank heavens for Google searches, right?"

You say that like potential law enforcement employers would view Brailsford's search results as a bad thing. To them it's a feature, not a bug.

[ImanAzol]

This is why I cheer when the faggots get shot by ordinary, decent criminals.

[TripK]

He'll get hired by some town in Florida and we'll see an article in 7 years about him shooting some 4 year old kid for having a Nerf gun.

[Echospinner]

I think if he does that he loses the disability pension.

[Still Curmudgeoned (Nunya)]

Or doubles it.

[NashTiger]

Or failing to stop a school shooter while he hides in the parking lot

[Trollificus]

Man, he'd have like, double disability pensions then!! A few more dead civilians, he can buy an island in the Carribean.

[mad.casual]

I hear there was a police shooting in S. Bend recently. Something about body cams being off and a special prosecutor looking into the matter. Should I hold my breath waiting for Reason to cover that story, injecting their own suppositions about any give outcomes or is there some partisan hackery going on that I'm unaware of?

[Crusty Juggler - Lawbertarian]

Fucking leftist scum.

[$park¥ is the Worst]

A Fullerton cop killed a teenager in Anaheim a few days ago too. Reason’s silence on the matter definitely shows their partisan hackery.

[Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"]

$park¥ is the White Knight to the rescue of Reason's virtue!!!

[Crusty Juggler - Lawbertarian]

He's stanning for Reason!

[Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"]

You're not wrong...

[Crusty Juggler - Lawbertarian]

Crusty is Sparky’s White Knight! It’s madness!!!

[Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"]

God you're fucking predictable and boring.

[Crusty Juggler - Lawbertarian]

Lol Captain Creativity

[Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"]

No man, it was pretty clear to everyone that you were trying to get that exact response from me, and when you didn't get it, you treated it like your prom date and forced it in.

Boring. Predictable.

[Crusty Juggler - Lawbertarian]

“Everyone.”

You are as delusional as you are boring. Nobody cares, man.

[Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"]

Hey look you predictably, boringly came back to get the last word.

[SQRLSY One]

Tulpa-Satan and $park¥ are actually one and the same... We are witnessing the fight-to-the-death between vying sets of head voices within the head of "Mr. Satan"!

In a glaze of vaseline, what a scene, what a scene! Step right up, and be amused at the fight to the end of ALL stupid! Just do NOT get drawn into it all, too deeply... Do ***NOT*** try to figure it all out, because there is NO logic there at ALL!!!

[Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"]

Yeah, go with that Hihn.

[$park¥ is the Worst]

Oh wow, you got fake Tulpa to show up and white knight for you. Lucky.

[Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"]

"I know you are but what am I!!!" - $park¥ is a Pigeon

[ImanAzol]

How recent? Analysis, like thought, takes time, as you are obviously unaware.

[Dillinger]

i guess applaud the negotiator(s) who wrote this possibility into the police contract.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

But there's no union problem. Move along.

[Colossal Douchebag]

"Union" was the word I looked for first. Gotta be one involved in this somehow.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Is Brailsford married? Because if Brailsford dies, I'm wondering if his fucking wife gets that pension payout for the rest of her life.

[NashTiger]

Are you in the market?

[TripK]

I'd also like to say that I hope he really does have PTSD. I hope he wakes up in cold sweats every night thinking about what he did.

[josh]

he doesn't have PTSD - he enjoyed it

[ImanAzol]

Blatantly. Oh, some small part of him might feel remorse, but then his, "But what about how _I'm_ feeling? I'm the real victim here!" gene kicked in.

There is a fundraiser for the widow's living and legal expenses, search for Laney Sweet.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Those cops no longer being cops is the best you could have hoped for.

[Truthteller1]

He should be in prison because he is a murderer, but this is really about training as much as it is about his gross negligence and incompetence.

[Chipper Jones]

Day 1 at the academy:

"Hi, I'm Bill and I'll be your instructor. First thing: don't shoot the unarmed guy laying face down on the ground. Now that we've covered that..."

[End Child Unemployment]

...if you need to shoot a guy, tell him to lay down, cross his legs, get up on his knees, put his hands behind his head, and crawl towards you within the span of 7-10 seconds. When he's unable to comply with your conflicting and confusing demands, then you've got him right where you want him.

[OG]

What a sick fucking world we live in. I'll never forget that video. That was murder.

[mad.casual]

It was worse than murder. That was an unarmed, innocent man on his knees begging not to be shot and getting executed anyway. More like a Taliban beheading video.

[LarryWilson]

Sooooo, is Mesa PD hiring by any chance?

[ImanAzol]

You laugh, but their Fecesbook page has a NOW HIRING video up right now.

[bevis the lumberjack]

So turns out that when he etched "You're fucked" on his gun it wasn't directed at potential shootees, it was directed at Mesa taxpayers.

[Uncle Jay]

This poor cop.
How does he live such a malady like PTSD?
At least he doesn't have the problems the man he killed has.

[Entropic Principle]

It was murder most foul. He was executed by the state without a trial.

[Chuckles the Snarky Piggy]

So, a man who has PTSD to the point that he has a permanent medical disability due to an incident where he killed a person with a firearm should have his right to possess a firearm taken away, right? He has incontrovertibly proven to be a danger to himself or others when in possession of a firearm. If anyone should ever lose their 2A protection is this worthless piece of shit.

Where is Hihn when we need him to argue this?

[End Child Unemployment]

Rights have limits, unless you are or were a police officer. Then the "but cops" exception applies.

[Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"]

Up thread, posting under his SQRLSY sock puppet.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Serious question, why do you get PTSD payouts for "life"?

[Echospinner]

Depends on the disability policy. I’m sure the cops get a gold plated one.

[TangoDelta]

PTSD, huh. They are going to take away all his guns because he's clearly a danger to himself, right? Might want to look into involuntarily committing him for a bit just to make it all nice and permanent like.

[TangoDelta]

"Through its insurance provider, Mesa will also spend up to $3 million for Brailsford to defend himself and pay settlements in lawsuits related to the Shaver shooting."

Can I please be on the jury that determines the amount? I'd put a floor of at least $9 million on any award just in case it might make other cops think twice that something will actually come out of their pockets.

[TangoDelta]

Oh shit, the lawsuit is for $100 million. I must be way too old thinking $9 million is real money. Ok, I vote to raise the floor to $300 million including triple damages for callous negligence.

[BBerry12]

The victim’ family should be glad that the estate isn’t being sued for inflicting emotional distress. “Look what he made me do!”

[MarkJ-]

So how is this not fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud? And likely several other crimes?

[NashTiger]

It could very well be denied by the carrier if in fact he was rehired just to go on disability. Insurance carriers don't like that

[ImanAzol]

It is a pre-existing condition to this hiring, is it not?

[Echospinner]

Well if he has PTSD last thing I would want is for him to get another job as a police officer.

He could. Even people who shoot someone justifiably often get that. Then he went through a murder trial. I can see where all that could mess up his head.

Besides it is an insurance policy or maybe they are self insured.

[Still Curmudgeoned (Nunya)]

Honestly, I'm surprised he didn't get some perverted version of witness protection.

[Eddy]

If he was acquitted, then it's possible that the evidence and/or the law was on his side.

Of course, it's also possible that the prosecutor, shall we say, wasn't putting full effort into the case.

I don't know which it was.

I'd think the shouty cop with his lay-down-now-get-up orders should have had to answer for his behavior.

Is it possible the jury thought the wrong cop was on trial? Just a piece of speculation.

[ImanAzol]

The defense managed to get the bodycam videos withheld from the trial, thus defeating the purpose, because they "don't show context."

[cravinbob]

If he actually has PTSD then he no longer can own a firearm according to courts that have taken the Rights of veterans.
However he does not have PTSD. They used to call it "shell shock" and recent findings are showing that term is more accurate.
Soldiers who experience heavy artillery blasts are now believed to have brain damage that can be seen microscopically in autopsies of the brain. There is damage that resembles those that had dementia. The one thing PTSD sufferers have in common is being very near constant explosions.
He does not have PTSD and the city government will no doubt follow him and eventually catch him in his lies to save money and he will go to prison for fraud. He will have too hard of a time acting the part. Veterans should be outraged more than regular citizens and this man is a vulgar disgrace.

[ImanAzol]

Utterly wrong. No explosions are necessary for PTSD. Nor is actual combat. Any cumulative emotional stress can do it. Context, and the individual matter. Car crashes, domestic abuse, rape, lightning strikes, etc.

[Lycurgas]

While true, the claim is that his being a murdering linker and being tried for it permanently disabled him.

I've had some serious trauma as in combat, and I dealt with it. I find getting overheated emotionally when provoked was the issue for awhile, but that mostly stopped.

This guy getting a permanent disability for committing murder is a farce. If I were his family I would hound him relentlessly. If he ever applied for a job, I'd make sure the employer had a public notice of his past not to mention insurance fraud for claiming disability. If they win a judgement, he could not hide from debt collectors on Mars.

I'd leave him 3 options. Harassed to his dying day, suicide or face me in a duel at 1,000 yards. I'd hold zero on his gun arm's shoulder 6 inches in. It might take the whole magazine to finish him. He would truly know fear.

[markm23]

PTSD from psychological overstress, and "shell shock" = cumulative physical brain damage from explosions are two separate things. They were confused because they occur together in industrial-era combat veterans.

[Lycurgas]

I saw a video of 2 cops breaking in on a guy with a hostage and an AR 15. One went charging in, at least 10 rounds fired, he runs out with a wound or 2, other guy step out to pull him behind the car, catches a bullet. If the guy had just prosecuted his targets with extreme aggression that would have been it.

Of course, the hostage taker was a bad guy, but he had already warned the cops he was armed and had a hostage. I guess they became believers when he opened fire.

Something about an AR just terrifies ordinary cops. SWAT 3b armor might stop it, but good 6.56 ammo at close range can penetrate dat wear vests.

I suppose the moral of the story is if you are going to deal with the cops, get at least an AR. Personally, I like some of those new savored 12 gauge slugs. I don't care if you are wearing full Level IV armor, you get hit with a supersonic 450 grain slug, you're going to feel it.

Not to mention, all that stacked entry and shields crap is great, but what if the person is waiting on you with a full MOPP suit and puts caltrops on the floor and 2 liter Coke bottles full of napalm and a bursting charge on the ceiling? All that armor won't save you from a few gallons of napalm and BB sized chunks of thermite mixed in.

Burn, baby, burn.

[WC46]

Everybody is acting as if this man has gotten by with something. Let me assure you he has not. One day every last one of us will stand before the Almighty God and give an answer for how we lived our lives; our thoughts, our words, and our actions whether they be good or evil. This man will surely answer to God. God can and will punish him far better than any earthly authority ever could. We can only destroy the body. God can and will destroy both body and soul of the wicked in hell.

[Hank Phillips]

Oh. I guess God makes the initiation of deadly force OK then. This explains a lot!

[Rufus The Monocled]

Wow. That's not good.

When did it happen that civil servants are treated so well?

[Hank Phillips]

Note to foreign readers: the writer meant "uncivil disservant".

[awildseaking]

LEFT HAND ON GREEN! LEFT HAND ON GREEN! I SAID RIGHT ON BLUE SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT

[Hank Phillips]

First Responders™ to whom the GOP platform is dedicated have their perks. It's only fitting that the Dems should even things up by dedicating their platform to cop-killers© so they too can sponge off of taxes withheld.

[Cop who shot, killed unarmed man reportedly receives $2,500 monthly for PTSD – My Blog]

[…] arrived at a La Quinta hotel after another guest reported seeing Shaver with a gun, according to Reason. Shaver was reportedly using a pellet gun, which officers didn’t seem to know at the […]

[Cop Who Shot, Killed Unarmed Man Receives $2,500 Monthly for PTSD – ViralPosts]

[…] arrived at a La Quinta hotel after another guest reported seeing Shaver with a gun, according to Reason. Shaver was reportedly using a pellet gun, which officers didn’t seem to know at the […]

[whatsintrending]

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[The ghOst of mcgOo]

That video was as horrific as watching al queda behead someone. That little motherfucker should be on death row instead of drawing a pension from my tax dollars. Hope his soul is eternally tormented for his disregard and torture of Daniel Shaver.

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[crufus]

Is it normal for murders to have PTSD?

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[feyr1965]

Mesa has had chapter 11 bankruptcy issues for 20 years, tettering on the edge of filing because LDS controls the town, is the biggest land owner so will not tax property and Mesa is very poorly run. Also this idiot is the son of a long time, retired Mesa cop. None of this is surprising, solution, re-dist Maricopa county, remove the knuckle dragging nazi republicans, get centerists, moderates, fiscal conservatives in perm positions of power and clean this city, state and country up. Cut-out the reagan-cancer. Biden/Miller 2020 Dems.

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[…] body cam video showed was on his hands and knees, sobbing and pleading for his life, the officer was reinstated long enough to file for disability—to the tune of $2,500 per month, for life— claiming that killing the helpless man, and the resulting trial he had to endure, has given him […]

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