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Cop Apologizes to Police Shooting Victim Rumain Brisbon's Daughter

A police officer shook Aiyana Rains' hand and said "I'm sorry" during a demonstration over the police shooting of the 9-year-old's father.
A Phoenix police officer in riot gear talks with Aiyana Rains, 9, the daughter of Rumain Brisbon, as she marches with hundreds of protesters toward police headquarters in Phoenix on Dec. 8, 2014. Grasping her hand, the officer said, "I'm sorry."
A Phoenix police officer in riot gear talks with Aiyana Rains, 9, the daughter of Rumain Brisbon, as she marches with hundreds of protesters toward police headquarters in Phoenix on Dec. 8, 2014. Grasping her hand, the officer said, "I'm sorry." Nick Oza / The Arizona Republic via AP

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 Aiyana Rains' 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.

— The Associated Press