Police bodycam footage shows unarmed man begging for his life before being shot dead by officer

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday

Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

Arizona police have released footage of the night an unarmed man and father of two begged officers for his life before they allegedly shot him dead.

Daniel Shaver, 26, from Texas, was killed by officer Philip Brailsford at a hotel in Arizona where he was staying for work.

The husband and father of two was ordered to leave his hotel room on 18 January and was reportedly filmed crawling towards officers, tearfully asking the police not to shoot him, before he was shot on his hands and knees in the corridor.

Investigators later determined that Mr Shaver was unarmed and had two pellet guns in his room for his work as a pest controller.

Police have been reacting to an earlier report that guests had seen someone pointing a gun out of the hotel window on the fifth floor.

All that can be seen in the video is police surrounding room 502 and ordering guests on the fifth floor to come out their rooms.

The footage does not reveal the moment Mr Shaver was killed.

His widow, Laney Sweet, and various news organizations have petitioned the court to release the whole video.

Officer Brailsford, who was later fired for not following departmental policies, has pleaded not guilty to one count of second-degree murder. His lawyers say the video would threaten his right to a fair trial.

Investigators said in police records that the video shows Mr Shaver outside his room, and he is ordered to crawl towards them.

Police said they believed Mr Shaver was reaching for a gun and they fired at him.

Mr Shaver’s wife wrote on a website page called "Justice for Daniel", which is dedicated to raising funds to support his family, that her husband had invited a man and a woman into his hotel room for a drink and they had taken turns in holding the pellet guns. She said two guests in the hot tub saw into Mr Shaver’s fifth floor window and notified reception workers, who called the police.

Mr Shaver, when in the corridor, had made a move with his right arm as if he had lost his balance, she said, and he was shot five times, from his face to his knee.

She said he died instantly.

“He was madly in love with his two daughters. He worked hard and sacrificed so he could provide for us. Our oldest, Natalie (6), is a true daddy's girl and they had a very special bond,” she wrote. ”Emery (4) misses her daddy and is crying for him during the night asking me, “Why can't people come back alive?”