Backstory: City of Mesa Negotiating a Long-Standing Lawsuit Over Mesa PD Slaughter of Daniel Shaver in 2016
The City of Mesa - and city officials - have been dragging on this case from January 2016 for more than five years. They are still trying to keep the talks out of the headlines and behind multiple closed-door Executive Sessions of the Mesa City Council.
Was it just 'a coincidence' that the Mesa City Council tried to manipulate public opinion and change the anticipated negative narrative when it announced the positive results in "a non-partisan live automatic-telephone opinion survey" paid for and commissioned by the Mesa Police Department and conducted between Feb. 22 and March 8, 2021.
This was an item in a Mesa City Council Study Session @ 07:30 Monday June 3, 2021 timed for release at that time only a few days aftera recent settlement conference here in Mesa before a city magistrate on May 27, 2021.
That was just before the start of another long Memorial Day Weekend
June 3, 2021 at 9:08 am The results of an independent survey conducted by Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy, reveal that Mesa residents feel safe, protected, and maintain positive relationships with their police department
INSERT > RELATED CONTENT ON THIS BLOG
02 June 2021
Final Agenda: Remote Zoom STUDY SESSION Mesa City Council Thu 06.03.2021 at 07:30 a.m.
Something was added - in addition to the 35 items already on the previously printed and published Tentative Agenda in advance of one more study session before the regular council meeting for Monday, June 7, 2021 at 5:45 p.m.
THE FINDINGS IN A CITIZEN SURVEY ON POLICING AND COMMUNITY SAFETY
Conducted by ASU's Morrison Institute for Public Policy
Here are the usual questions that are asked about the conduct of surveys:
1. Is it believable and verifiable and independent when there might be overlapping interests?
There must be disclosure if there is or has been a relationship in the past or present
2. Is the survey representative and reliable?
What is the size of the data sample in relation to the entire citizen population?
What method was used for contact, how was it done, and during what time period?
3. The questions asked must be free of taint and/or not intended to produce a desired outcome
4. Would the same results be duplicated in an independent and objective survey by a 3rd party?
The city and police officers, accused of use-of-excessive force in the cold-blooded killing, failed to reach a settlement with David Shaver's widow Laney Sweet and two children together, but according to a report last Saturday, there was a some kind of settlement - with Shaver's parents - court documents show. Justice delayed is not justice denied. . .
It's just one story that's getting more attention all the time - 3 years and 6 months after an incident that the City of Mesa tried hard to cover-up for far too long.
Last week we found out about a new twist to the shameful saga when local mainstream media ABC15 revealed that Mesa Police Officer Philip Brailsford had been granted a pension last year: "The local five-member PSPRS board, which includes Mesa City Manager Brady, voted in October 2018 to grant Brailsford an accidental disability pension. physical or mental condition
Time to Wake-Up Mesa!
Evidence is piling-up big time After murder acquittal, Mesa ex-cop Philip Brailsford made a pension deal
Posted: 6:39 PM, Jul 10, 2019
"Two years after he shot an unarmed man and was fired, former police officer Philip “Mitch” Brailsford was rehired by the City of Mesa in order to obtain a special pension. Now, Brailsford is considered medically retired, not fired, according to a Mesa city spokesman... "Brailsford was fired from the police department after the shooting for violations of department policy. He was also charged with murder, but he was later acquitted. Brailsford appealed his termination. .
The agreement, obtained by ABC15, included that Brailsford would be rehired temporarily to allow him to apply for an accidental disability pension and medical retirement. The terms prevented Brailsford from performing any job duties or getting paid during the period of reemployment. "He was eligible for retirement benefits, so he applied for them," City Manager Chris Brady said. "More than two years had passed since Brailsford's termination, so he would not have qualified without the special agreement to be rehired. Mesa city officials claim the whole process was held in "abeyance," or put on hold, while Brailsford stood trial." BLOGGER NOTES: The trial dragged on for a long time. The real-time police body-cam video was first released in an edited version instead of getting released immediately . . . What happened?
Miscarriage of Justice Here In Mesa Gets More National Attention: The Case of Philip Brailsford
From this blog on July 11, 2019
OUTRAGEOUS: Just "Another Deal" from City Manager Chris Brady
Time to Wake-Up Mesa!
Evidence is piling-up big time
After murder acquittal, Mesa ex-cop Philip Brailsford made a pension deal Posted: 6:39 PM, Jul 10, 2019
"Two years after he shot an unarmed man and was fired, former police officer Philip “Mitch” Brailsford was rehired by the City of Mesa in order to obtain a special pension. Now, Brailsford is considered medically retired, not fired, according to a Mesa city spokesman. . . ^ The Spokesman: City Manager Chris Brady
"Two years ago, I wrote about Daniel Shaver, an unarmed 26-year-old who in 2016 was shot to death in a hotel hallway while begging for his life.
> The killer, Mesa Police Officer Philip Brailsford, was put on trial for murder.
> Jurors were not allowed to know that he had scratched “You’re fucked” into his service weapon.
BLOGGER NOTE: There are more details in related content farther down in this post
"He was acquitted of murder and manslaughter, despite video of as chilling and egregious a police killing as I’ve ever seen. . . "
Conor Friedersdorfis a California-based staff writer at The Atlantic, where he focuses on politics and national affairs.
On April 4, 2016 months after the incident where Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery refused to release any part of the body-cam video to the public, it hits the news headlines again
Arizona Police Union Spurs Facebook Backlash, Defends Cop Seeking Plea Deal in Murder Case
The Facebook page of the Mesa police union blew up over the weekend with more comments than they have likes on their page for defending the indefensible.
FAIR WARNING > THIS IS DISTURBING:
Daniel Shaver’s Widow Files $75 Million Lawsuit Against Mesa Police Department and Hotel
report by Carlos Miller
Just over a week after Daniel Shaver’s parents filed a lawsuit against the Arizona police department that shot and killed their unarmed son, his widow also filed a lawsuit. This one for $75 million in damages. Laney Sweet filed her lawsuit Tuesday against the Mesa Police Department, including Philip “Mitch” Brailsford, the cop who killed her husband with an AR-15 with the words, “You’re Fucked” inscribed on it. Also mentioned in the lawsuit is the hotel company where the shooting took place
According to the Associated Press, Sweet filed her lawsuit against the City of Mesa, the team of officers who responded to the hotel call, and La Quinta Holdings, the parent company of the hotel in question.Police officer Brailsford was fired after the gruesome incident made local, national and international headlines. Only a heavily edited of on-the-scene bodycams was ever released, four months after into the litigation.
Video of the actual shooting is missing from what was released but disturbing images have been made public
Widow of Daniel Shaver, killed by Mesa police officer in 2016, may press for a trial; man's parents settle with city
Alison Steinbach, Arizona Republic Published 6:30 a.m. MT June 12, 2021
". . .Sweet's lawsuit and the lawsuit brought by Shaver's parents were combined into one in the court system in 2017. Mesa refused to provide The Arizona Republic with the settlement amount with Shaver's parents until it “finalizes the full terms of the settlement. . .
Court case is ongoing
Sweet's case in U.S. District Court is ongoing, with depositions and discovery expected to continue through the summer.
Lawyers for Mesa two days after the settlement conference asked the court for a second settlement meeting, but this time with a court-appointed guardian for Sweet and Shaver’s two children, “to protect the best interests of the minor children during the settlement discussions.”
The city’s outside attorneys said Sweet and Shaver were not married when he died but had a common law marriage, so said “her status as a legal heir has not been determined.” The filing says there are “economic conflicts” between Sweet and the minor children, and Sweet has “unsettled standing to pursue her claim,” which the city said affects settling the case.
Mesa would not comment on the filing. . ."I’d love to comment more but unfortunately every time I do, former officer Brailsford, Sargent Langley and the city of Mesa’s attorneys engage in juvenile antics that only further delay accountability and justice for my husband, Daniel Shaver," she wrote
Sweet’s legal team filed a response under seal, meaning it is not available publicly. . . '
National and international reactions and coverage worldwide from news sources are reacting:Mesa Police Department has released the full body camera video showing ex-Officer Philip “Mitch” Brailsford fatally shooting 26-year-old Daniel Shaver at an Arizona motel in January 2016. It was posted online by the attorney for Shaver’s wife, Laney Sweet, who is suing the Mesa Police Department for $75 million and had been fighting for the release of the video. Brailsford shot Shaver with a personal AR-15 rifle, which he was allowed to use, according to police reports.
Was it just 'a coincidence' that the Mesa City Council tried to manipulate public opinion and change the anticipated negative narrative when it announced the positive results in "a non-partisan live automatic-telephone opinion survey" paid for and commissioned by the Mesa Police Department and conducted between Feb. 22 and March 8, 2021.
It's just one story that's getting more attention all the time - 3 years and 6 months after an incident that the City of Mesa tried hard to cover-up for far too long.
"More than two years had passed since Brailsford's termination, so he would not have qualified without the special agreement to be rehired. Mesa city officials claim the whole process was held in "abeyance," or put on hold, while Brailsford stood trial." 
From The Atlantic :
National and international reactions and coverage worldwide from news sources are reacting: Mesa Police Department has released the full body camera video showing ex-Officer Philip “Mitch” Brailsford fatally shooting 26-year-old Daniel Shaver 
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