Daniel Shaver
The verdict in the case of the shooting death of an unarmed husband and father of two small children, Daniel Shaver, is in. It is not guilty.
Daniel wasn’t just an unarmed man brutally shot and killed, he was an unarmed man brutally shot and killed by a police officer. And that police officer just walked.
This is Daniel and his wife, Laney.
He was a husband.
This is Daniel and his daughters, Natalie and Emery.
He was a father.
This is their family before Daniel was taken from it.
A woman is left without her husband. Two children are left without their father.
And the police officer responsible for it gets to go home to whatever life he has, as if he didn’t kill an innocent man.
The video is very graphic. Very disturbing.
He was pulling up his pants. I’m pretty sure, even through a grainy body-cam, I can tell that he was just pulling up his pants, and he’s dead.
How are you supposed to crawl with your legs crossed? How are you supposed to follow directions being barked at you while an assault rifle is pointed at you?
I can’t even find my license and registration when I get pulled over for speeding.
It’s never NOT been in my glove box, and yet, the flash of red and blue leaves me panic stricken, fumbling for it. Even if I haven’t done anything wrong, the sight of a police officer makes my heart skip.
I wonder what Daniel felt?
His voice tells the story.
“Yes, Sir.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He felt terror. He tried to cooperate. Then he pulled up his pants — an instinct, I’m sure. And now he’s dead. Executed.
Officer Philip Brailsford, the man who shot and killed Daniel, was acquitted yesterday.
Today, Daniel’s wife, Laney, will have to explain to her daughters why the man that killed their father walks free. Today, Daniel’s daughters, Natalie and Emery, will have to try to understand why the man who killed their father won’t be punished for the life he took.
Today, I write, pleading with you, speak. Please do not be silent. Please do not stand by while police officers brutally murder innocent human beings.
