Riot-gear-clad officer offers sympathetic gesture to child of Phoenix police shooting victim

The Associated Press
December 10, 2014 at 7:40AM

PHOENIX — A poignant image has emerged from protests over a deadly police shooting in Phoenix.

The 9-year-old daughter of Rumain Brisbon was among those attending a demonstration Monday in downtown Phoenix as protesters pushed for greater transparency in the investigation.

The Arizona Republic reports a police officer in riot gear shook the daughter's hand and said "I'm sorry." The newspaper also captured an image of the encounter.

When asked about the gesture, the attorney for Brisbon's family, Marci Kratter, said it was "nice, but it does not bring back her father." She says, "It doesn't change things."

Police were investigating complaints of drug dealing in a Phoenix neighborhood when officer Mark Rine shot Brisbon. The officer mistook a pill bottle in the suspect's pocket for a gun as the two scuffled.

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