Not the one you are asking for but maybe an example?
Here are the facts of the case: On Jan. 18, 2016, police in Mesa, Ariz., received a call that a suspect was pointing a rifle out the window of a La Quinta Inn. Police arrived on scene, called up to the room in question and told the occupants (Shaver and a female) to exit the room. Two police officers then encountered Shaver in the hallway. The officers claim Shaver failed to comply, and Officer Brailsford shot him five times.
Below is the video of the incident (graphic content warning):
While it is often the case that police use of force is difficult to judge, this is not one of those cases. It should be clear to everyone: Daniel Shaver was murdered. The video of his death shows the most obvious police abuse of force since former officer Michael Slager executed a fleeing Walter Scott in North Charleston, S.C., in 2015. Slager, however, got a 20-year sentence for that unjust killing. Appallingly, a jury cleared Officer Brailsford of all criminal charges earlier this month.
What is clear from the video is that the two officers were unnecessarily aggressive and belligerent during the encounter. Here are some of the most telling statement from Sgt. Charles Langley, who was giving the commands while Brailsford had his rifle trained on Shaver:
“Young man, listen to my instructions and do not make a mistake.”
“Push yourself up to a kneeling position.”
“I said keep your legs crossed.”
“Another mistake, there is a very severe possibility that both of you are going to get shot.”
“Shut up. I’m not here to be tactful and diplomatic with you.”
“You do that again, we’re shooting you.”
“If you move we are going to consider that a threat.”
Note Sgt. Langley’s repeated use of the word “mistake.” The officers surely knew that Shaver was attempting to comply, but he was terrified, inebriated and wobbly. Shaver was fumbling, not disobeying. The cops also told him not to move, after telling him multiple times to move. Their commands were overly complicated, contradictory and hostile.
{mosads}Officers Brailsford and Langley turned a routine arrest into a lethal game of “Simon Says,” and Shaver paid for it with his life.
The moment of the shooting was equally unjustifiable. Officer Brailsford claimed he shot Shaver because he was concerned that the suspect was reaching into his waistband for a gun. Brailsford even stated in the official police report that he thought Shaver was “trying to gain a position of advantage in order to gain a better firing position on us.”
This is ludicrous. It was obvious that Shaver lost his balance. If physical limitations for overly complicated demands are grounds for lethal force, where does it end? Can police execute a suspect for improper form after demanding jumping jacks? What about a weak handstand?
We also cannot disregard the obvious terror and panic that Shaver displayed. He begged police “please do not shoot me” and was audibly crying. Everything about the surrounding circumstances showed that Shaver, a husband and father of two young children, just wanted to get out of that hallway with his life. Shaver’s tone and body language were in no way threatening. The officers responded to him with delusional ferocity anyway.
This was beyond infuriating when it happened and I still have the same reaction when it is mentioned. Of course there were no riots or demands for defunding cops, since Shaver was an expendable honkie. I can think of no incident that caused race based riots that was anywhere near as appalling as this murder, yet most people have never heard the name Daniel Shaver.
And unfortunately Brailsford is a free man, having murdered a man begging for his life.