Authorities have released the unedited video of an Arizona police officer fatally shooting an unarmed man outside his hotel room as officers responded to a call that someone there was pointing a gun out a window.
The 18-minute body-camera video was released shortly after former Officer Philip Mitchell Brailsford was acquitted Thursday on a murder charge in the January 2016 shooting death of Daniel Shaver of Granbury, Texas.
Screenshot of bodycam video released by Mesa Police shows Daniel Shaver holding his arms in the air. (Photo via Mesa Police Department)
The release of the full video marks the first time the face-to-face encounter between officers and Shaver has been available to the public outside a courtroom. It was played at the beginning of Brailsford's trial in late October.
The footage, taken from Brailsford's point of view, shows the shooting and the tense moments leading up to it.
Officers ordered Shaver to lie down face-first in the hallway and not make any sudden movements or risk being shot.
At one point, Shaver puts his hands behind his back.
"Hands up in the air!" yelled Sgt. Charles Langley, who was leading the police team that responded to the call. "You do that again, we're shooting you."
"Please do not shoot me," Shaver said, sobbing.
In this Oct. 25, 2017 file photo, Former Mesa police officer Philip Brailsford, left, and his attorney, Mike Piccarreta, stand for the jury, at the start of Brailsford's murder trial at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix . Brailsford was acquitted Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017 of a murder charge in the 2016 fatal shooting of Daniel Shaver, an unarmed man outside his hotel room as officers were responding to a call that someone there was pointing a gun out a window. (David Wallace/The Arizona Republic via AP, File)
He was ordered to crawl toward officers. As he inched forward, he reached toward the waistband of his shorts, leading Brailsford to open fire. He said he believed Shaver was grabbing a handgun to fatally shoot him.
Authorities have said it looked as though Shaver was pulling up his loose-fitting basketball shorts that had fallen down as he crawled.
No gun was found on Shaver's body, but two pellet rifles related to his pest-control job were later found in his hotel room.
While the acquittal clears Brailsford of criminal liability, Shaver's widow, Laney Sweet, and Shaver's parents have filed wrongful-death lawsuits against the suburban Phoenix city of Mesa.
Brailsford served as a Mesa officer for about two years before he was fired for violating department policy.
Former Officer Philip Michell Brailsford (left) and Daniel Shaver (Photo via KPHO/KTVK)
Portions of the video had been released in May 2016 after The Associated Press and other news organizations requested that it be unsealed. The previously released footage showed officers taking cover in a hotel hallway as they waited for Shaver and a woman to exit his room and ended just before they walked out.
NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA and its players' union will not agree to another collective bargaining agreement extension after the current deadline passes Friday night, WNBPA vice president Breanna Stewart said.
That does not mean players will strike or the league will lock them out. Stewart told reporters Thursday at an Unrivaled practice that the players would continue to negotiate in good faith.
With the deadline just before midnight Friday night, the league wouldn't confirm that the two sides won't reach an extension. A WNBA spokesman did say the league would “continue to negotiate in good faith with the goal of reaching a deal as quickly as possible.”
“Our focus remains on reaching an agreement that significantly increases player compensation while ensuring the long-term growth of the business,” a league spokesperson said.
The league and the players have had two previous extensions and have met several times this week. Any stalled negotiations could delay the start of the 2026 season. The last CBA was announced in the middle of January 2020, a month after it had been agreed to.
It could easily take two months from when a new CBA is reached to get to the start of free agency, which was supposed to begin later this month.
While a strike or lockout isn't imminent, both sides could change their viewpoints.
Stewart said calling a strike is “not something that we’re going to do right this second, but we have that in our back pocket.” The league hasn't been considering a lockout, according to a person familiar with the decision. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
As of Thursday, the sides remained far apart on many key issues, including salary and revenue sharing, and it seems unlikely a deal could have been reached before Friday's deadline.
The league’s most recent offer last month would guarantee a maximum base salary of $1 million in 2026 that could reach $1.3 million through revenue sharing. That’s up from the current $249,000 and could grow to nearly $2 million over the life of the agreement, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told the AP. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
Under the league's proposal, players would receive in excess of 70% of net revenue — though that would be their take of the profits after expenses are paid. Those expenses would include upgraded facilities, charter flights, five-star hotels, medical services, security and arenas.
The average salary in 2026 would be more than $530,000, up from its current $120,000, and grow to more than $770,000 over the life of the agreement. The minimum salary would grow from its current $67,000 to approximately $250,000 in the first year, the person told the AP.
The proposal would also financially pay star young players like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers, who are all still on their rookie contracts, nearly double the league minimum.
Revenue sharing is one of the major sticking points in the negotiations.
The union's counter proposal to the league would give players around 30% of the gross revenue. The player's percentage would be from money generated before expenses for the first year and teams would have a $10.5 million salary cap to sign players. Under the union's proposal, the revenue sharing percent would go up slightly each year.
The union feels that the $750 million in expansion fees that the league just received with the addition of Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia by 2030 should be considered revenue and included in projections. The league says that the money actually goes to all the current teams that were in place before expansion to make up for the future money they’ll be losing by dividing the total revenue by more franchises.
Other major sports leagues like the NBA, NHL and NFL don't include expansion fees in their revenue-sharing structures. Major League Baseball's salary structure is not tied to its revenue, so expansion fees don't matter.
The league has proposed making players pay for their housing instead of having teams continue to incur the costs. With the potential new minimum salary at approximately $250,000, the WNBA has said that like most every other pro league, players should pay for their own housing.
The union's stance is that teams should continue to pay for players' housing.
An extended delay in getting a deal done could cause a number of problems, specifically getting the season started on time or even played for several reasons. There are several factors that indicate that time is near:
— Free agency
With nearly all the veteran players free agents this offseason, this will be the biggest year in the league's history as far as potential movement. Free agency was supposed to start later this month. However, once a new CBA is reached, it could take both parties two months to get free agency started.
— Revenue-generating events could be delayed
The release of the schedule has been delayed because of the lack of a new CBA. In the past, the league has tried to get it out before the holidays so teams can sell tickets. With so many players potentially changing teams as free agents, new merchandise wouldn't be able to be sold.
— Expansion draft
With Portland and Toronto entering the league this year, an expansion draft has to be held for the two new teams. Last year when Golden State came into the WNBA, a draft was held in December. Current teams need to figure out who they will be protecting from being selected in the draft, and that is made more complicated due to all the free agents.
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
FILE - The WNBA logo is seen near a hoop before an WNBA basketball game at Mohegan Sun Arena, May 14, 2019, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
