Mesa police officer charged with murder was rising star

• Philip “Mitch” Brailsford is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of an unarmed man
• The Mesa Police Department fired the 25-year-old earlier in March
• Before the January shooting in Mesa, however, Brailsford had been a standout officer, files show

The 25-year-old consistently earned glowing reviews from his supervisor, sailed through firearms training courses and often led his squad in monthly arrests and traffic stops.Before the Jan. 18 shooting left an unarmed man dead, Officer Philip “Mitch” Brailsford was a rising star within the Mesa Police Department.

His sights were set on a position in the street-crime division or gang units.

Mesa police on Tuesday released Brailsford’s personnel files in response to part of a broad public-records request filed by The Arizona Republic and other media outlets after the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Daniel Shaver.

Dozens of Valley officers shoot — and often kill — suspects in the line of duty each year, but this case marked the first time since 2010 that Maricopa County prosecutors have filed criminal charges. Brailsford faces one count of second-degree murder.

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said earlier in March that the shooting was “not justified,” and that he made the conclusion after a review that included footage from Brailsford’s body camera.

Disturbing details about the case emerged throughout the police report, which was released Tuesday as well. Shaver was heavily intoxicated and pleading for his life just moments before Brailsford fired his AR-15 patrol rifle, and a follow-up investigation revealed that the phrase “You’re F--ked” was etched onto the weapon.

Brailsford was fired by the department on March 21 in connection with the fatal shooting. The department also cited the inappropriate etching on the rifle as a violation of the department's service weapons policy.

Personnel files paint a different picture of the young officer, though. He appeared to be a high achiever who scarcely received criticism from his employers or the public.

Brailsford graduated from Mesa Desert Ridge High School in 2009 with a 3.5 GPA, going on to serve as an LDS missionary in Ecuador between 2009 and 2011.

He enrolled in Mesa Community College and the Arizona National Guard before being hired by the Mesa Police Department in 2013. Brailsford spoke with The Arizona Republic when he was one of 13 rookies outfitted with Axon body cameras as part of the department's plan to supply 300 patrol officers with them.

Brailsford scored a “successful performance” in every area of a recent job evaluation and was a consistent recipient of praise from his supervisor, Brandon Wilson.

In several of his performance appraisals, Wilson commended Brailsford for his productivity.

“Officer Brailsford consistently leads the squad in on-view arrests and proactive enforcement efforts,” he wrote in one dated Jan. 12, 2015. “Officer Brailsford targets high crime areas within his beat and focuses his attention on those areas by enforcing minor traffic violations in an attempt to develop larger cases and identify criminal offenders.”

In a rare critical comment, he was gently reprimanded for failing to turn on his body camera.

And the files show Brailsford set high standards for himself. In goals he set for himself in the January 2015 evaluation process, he aimed to arrest at least one person a day and to attend training courses that could create a pathway to the street crimes division.

Several of his goals centered on firearms training. He hoped to fit in range time at least once a month to maintain his expert marksmanship status.

Brailsford declined to comment for this article through his attorney, Craig Mehrens.

Mehrens on Tuesday described his client as “devastated.” “He really feels like the department and the city of Mesa have truly let him down,” he said. “These things happen in an instant. It’s sad that the city and the chief can’t understand that.”