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Judge rules against Brailsford body cam video

Posted at 4:13 PM, May 05, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-06 00:26:29-04

A Maricopa County judge has ruled against the immediate release of body camera video in connection with an officer-involved shooting of an unarmed man at a hotel earlier this year.

Both the prosecution and the defense in the trial of former Mesa police officer Philip Brailsford have sought to prevent the release of footage from the body cameras worn by the responding officers.

Brailsford is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Daniel Shaver, who authorities say Brailsford shot and killed in January.

He has since been fired from the police force after a review determined his shooting of Shaver was not justified.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sam Myers ruled the body camera video will not be released until at least Brailsford's preliminary hearings, which are scheduled for May 16 and 17. Myers also said authorities did not have to release the body camera footage to Laney Sweet, Shaver's wife.

Media outlets, including ABC15 and the Associated Press, had argued the video is a public record.

Brailsford has pleaded not guilty in the case.