Philip "Mitch" Brailsford, a former Mesa police officer acquitted of killing an unarmed man in 2016, was temporarily rehired by the department so he could apply for a monthly pension, records show.

A Maricopa County jury found Brailsford not guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting of 26-year-old Daniel Shaver, who was unarmed and on his knees begging for his life when the officer shot him five times in the hallway of a Mesa hotel.

Brailsford was fired in March 2016. City and court records show he was briefly rehired by the Mesa Police Department in 2018 so he could apply for the pension, which totals more than $30,000 annually.

The shooting, which is the subject of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by Shaver's family and a federal civil-rights investigation, received national attention after unedited footage depicting the minutes before the killing was released a year later.

A short, unpaid reinstatement

Minutes from the Sept. 13, 2018, meeting of the MesaPublic Safety Personnel Retirement System show Brailsford was reinstated on Aug. 27 for 42 days.

During that time period, Brailsford applied for accidental disability.

An accidental disability is one that occurred while the employee was on the clock and permanently prevents the employee from doing his or her job. Both physical and mental conditions can qualify.

It's not known what incident Brailsford cited. Steven Wright, a spokesman for the city of Mesa, said he could not comment on the matter as it would violate medical privacy laws.

Wright explained that Brailsford initially attempted to appeal his dismissal in March 2016. Mesa personnel policy provides all employees the chance to appeal any termination.

City officials opted to postpone the hearing until the criminal trial was completed.

In August 2018, Brailsford reached an agreement with Mesa that allowed him to be reinstated to an "unfunded budget position with no pay or duties," according to Wright.

The temporary reinstatement was primarily procedural, as officers need to be employed in order to file for disability.

Commander Ed Wessing, a Mesa police spokesman, clarified that Brailsford "was not in any way fulfilling a capacity as a police officer" during the 42-day period.

Brailsford first appeared before the board Sept. 13. His application was the only item on the agenda. All discussions pertaining to Brailsford's "disabling injury" and subsequent treatments were discussed in executive session.

The board told him he needed to receive an independent medical exam before it could make a decision, which is standard procedure.

He was approved for medical retirement on Oct. 8 in a unanimous vote.

"Chairman (Bryan) Raines thanked Police Officer Philip Brailsford for his service to the City," the minutes read.

Public-safety pensions are funded via city and employee contributions.

Typically, individuals filing for accidental disability pensions receive a pension equal to a minimum of 50% of their salary, according to the Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System website.

However, officers with less than 20 years of service when they file for disability lose 4% per year for every year less than 20 not served.

Brailsford had served less than two years when he was fired.

Christian Palmer, an Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System spokesman, told The Arizona Republic that Brailsford receives about $2,500 a month.

He clarified that the local board in Mesa had complete control over Brailsford's reinstatement and the approval of the pension.

"These are local affairs that affect local employers and local board," Palmer said. "We have the power to review it to determine if that's any conflict with state law. In this case, there were none, and PSPRS is distributing the pension benefits."

Brailsford, wife filed bankruptcy

On Jan. 24, according to federal court records, Brailsford and his wife filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, asking that their assets be liquidated to pay their creditors.

On May 6, a judge ordered a discharge in the Brailsfords’ bankruptcy case. Brailsford wrote in the bankruptcy filing that he's receiving a pension of $856 a month. It's not clear why the amount Brailsford listed differs from the figure given by PSPRS.

The pension is in addition to the couple’s monthly income of more than $4,000 combined from their employers.

Brailsford works at a West Valley steel company and his wife works at a restaurant in Mesa, pay stubs attached to the bankruptcy file show.

Because of Brailsford’s bankruptcy case, the claims against him made in a lawsuit filed by Shaver’s family were halted from further legal process.

As a result, the other officers who were in the hotel hallway and named in the lawsuit requested the whole case be halted. U.S. District Court Judge G. Murray Snow denied that motion.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix in January 2017, a year after the shooting, by attorneys for Shaver’s widow and parents.

Murder charge and trial

In March 2016, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery’s office filed a second-degree murder charge against Brailsford. The officer was subsequently fired from the Mesa Police Department, which cited policy violations and unsatisfactory performance as the reasons.

An internal-affairs investigation found that Brailsford had violated the Police Department’s policies by engraving on his department-approved rifle “You’re f--ked” and “Molon labe,” a Greek classical expression of defiance, which loosely translates to "come and take them."

Brailsford was the first officer charged with murder by Montgomery in connection to an on-duty shooting.

During the trial, the public saw unedited footage of the officers’ Axon on-body camera footage depicting the shooting for the first time.

After a six-week trial, a Maricopa County jury acquitted Brailsford of all charges in December 2017.

In March 2018, Mesa police confirmed the U.S. Department of Justice had launched a civil-rights violation investigation of Brailsford. The results of the investigation have not been announced.

Bree Burkitt and Uriel Garcia cover public-safety issues in Arizona. Reach Uriel at uriel.garcia@azcentral.com and follow him on Twitter @ujohnnyg. Bree can be contacted at bburkitt@republicmedica.com or on Twitter @breeburkitt.

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