Arizona prosecutors may consider plea deal for ex-cop charged with murder

PHOENIX — A plea deal may be in the works for a former Mesa police officer charged with second-degree murder for an on-duty shooting.

The wife of a Texas man shot and killed by then-Officer Phillip Brailsford claimed Maricopa County prosecutors were going to let the former cop off easy and didn’t believe justice was going to be served in the case.

“He is (going to) try to walk with as minimal repercussions as possible. Meanwhile, my husband will never come back,” Laney Sweet said.

County prosecutors confirmed they were considering resolving the case before it heads to trial.

“We communicated to the defense a potential resolution short of trial,” Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said.

Brailsford would not be getting special treatment if a plea deal was reached, Montgomery said.

He said his office was dedicated to holding police officers accountable if they break the law. Deals were offered in most cases, he added.

“Short of capital (murder) cases where there really isn’t anything to negotiate over we almost always will seek a resolution short of trial to receive a just result,” Montgomery said.

Brailsford was fired this week. He was charged in the Jan. 18 shooting death of Daniel Shaver.

Brailsford and other officers had responded to a call of a suspect pointing a rifle out of a room window at the La Quinta Inn and Suites near Superstition Springs Boulevard and U.S. 60.