US: Bodycam footage reveals man begging for life as police shoot him dead

Officer Philip Brailsford killed Daniel Shaver, 26, in a hotel hallway early last year in Mesa, Arizona.

Bodycam footage, which was released after the verdict was delivered, shows Mr Shaver asking officers not to shoot him.

He is seen crawling towards officers, sobbing as he is shot five times with a semi-automatic rifle.

Prosecutors said the officer had responded appropriately as he believed Mr Shaver was reaching for a concealed firearm.

Lawyers for Mr Brailsford had petitioned the judge to hold back from releasing the video until after the trial had concluded, which he agreed to.

Police were called to the La Quinta Inn & Suites hotel after receiving reports of a man pointing a gun outside his room window.

It transpired that the weapon was an airsoft or pellet gun and that the occupants of the room had been drinking, though one had left before police arrived.

In the bodycam footage, Mr Shaver is seen exiting the room and immediately dropping to the ground.

He is told to follow the officers’ instructions and to get into a kneeling position.

However, after he puts his hands behind his back, officers warn him that they will shoot him if he does so again.

He responds: “Please don’t shoot me… I’m trying to do what you tell me.”

He then crawls towards police as instructed and moves his hand towards his waist, prompting Mr Brailsford to shoot him five times.

The initial police report stated that Mr Shaver’s movement could have been interpreted as an attempt to draw a pistol but also noted that his shorts had fallen down and that his movement “was also consistent with attempting to pull his shorts up as they were falling off”.

The video is available below (please note it is extremely graphic).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBUUx0jUKxc