Skip to main content

On This Day: Officer Faulkner found dead

Philadelphia officer David Faulkner was found dead 33 years ago today. Mumia Abu-Jamal, a local Black Panther and recently let-go journalist, was found severely wounded on the sidewalk near him.

The investigation found that Abu-Jamal happened to nearby and saw Officer Faulkner as he was about to handcuff Abu-Jamal’s brother, William Cook. Abu-Jamal approached Officer Faulkner from behind and intervened with force, pulling a gun on the 26 year old officer.  Abu-Jamal exchanged gunfire with Officer Faulkner. Both men sustained injuries. Abu-Jamal, still walking towards Officer Faulkner, stood over him as he lied bleeding on the sidewalk and fired four more shots at close range, killing him.

Faulkner had called for back up. Although the officers responded quickly, Faulkner was dead. Abu-Jamal was still at the scene holding the fired gun. Several witnesses identified Abu-Jamal as Faulkner’s murderer.

Faulkner left high school early to join the Army. During his time in the military, he earned his high school degree and an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice. After the military, he was a corrections officer for a brief time before joining the Philadelphia Police Department in 1975. A few years later, in 1979, he married Maureen.

Sources:
“Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v Mumia Abu-Jamal” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Pennsylvania_v._Mumia_Abu-Jamal. Last accessed online 9 December 2014.

Danny Faulkner. http://danielfaulkner.com/. Last accessed online at 9 December 2014.

“The Danny Faulkner Story” Fraternal Order of Police. http://www.fop.net/causes/faulkner/danny.shtml. Last accessed online 9 December 2014.
 
Photo:
Dreamstime
 
On This Day is a prompt I started this month to further explore historical events. I will make every effort to keep events localized to that of my research or research I am conducting for others.
 

Comments

  1. Thank you for this post Jeanne. As a retired police officer, married to a retired police officer, I appreciate you remembering Officer Faulkner.
    I also like the idea of the "On This Day" prompt.
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Diane - for your nice comment and your and your husband's service. The Black Panthers are actually part of the reason my husband's family left Philadelphia. Dad was on the force and involved in a raid which ended in death threats on the entire family ... so the family story goes.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Coatesville's First Serial Killer

Young Alexander Meyer was a disturbed and angry young man with some major issues. He had failed sixth and seventh grade, and instead of having to repeat eighth grade again, he finally gave up on school. At age 16 he quit Downingtown Junior High. Meyer is not a relative, nor are his victims (that I am aware). I stumbled upon young Alex while reading Tortured Minds: Pennsylvania's Most Bizarre - But Forgotten - Murders by Tammy Mal. On 11 February 1937 Alexander Thweatt Meyer killed young Helen Moyer as she walked home from school in Coatesville along Modena Road. She was not his first. The jury was out only three minutes after hearing Dr. Michael Margolis' testimony on the death of Helen Moyer. The jury determined Meyer had murdered Moyer and should be held for first degree murder. The jury also condemned the parole system which had released Meyer back into the public, after having served just 14 months in Huntingdon Reformatory, for the murder of two other girls - Anna Blasc

Thaddeus Stevens at the Lancaster Convention Center

Within the Lancaster Convention Center (Lancaster, PA) is a small section dedicated to Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. The section is known as the Stevens & Smith Historic Site. It is scheduled for development this year. At the moment one can only get a glimpse of it through the Convention Center or by peeking in from the outside. Here at Queen and Vine Streets in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania, Thaddeus Stevens had his law office. Stevens was an abolitionist. An abolitionist is a person who favors the abolition of a practice or institution, especially capital punishment or (formerly) slavery. Stevens was born 4 April 1792 to Joshua Stevens and Sarah (Sally) Morrill in Danville Vermont. One of four children, he attended Vermont University from 1810 to 1812 when the War prompted its closure. He then went to Dartmouth, where he graduated in 1814. He then studied law and found himself set up in Gettysburg, PA in 1816. He practiced law there until 1828 when he found hi

Living History Offers Opportunity to Step Back in Time

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to work the fields on a plantation during the Revolutionary War? Or stroll through an 18th century village? Or fight in battle during the Civil War?  Living history  offers an interactive perspective which incorporates  historical  activities and dress providing a sense of stepping back in time. So, how can YOU step back in time? Rock Ford volunteer Nancy Bradley in the Study of the mansion Rock Ford Plantation, in Lancaster County, PA, will be hosting a Volunteer Tour Guide Recruitment Event on Sunday, 22 March. They need tour guides for its upcoming tour season.  Built circa 1794, Rock Ford was the home of Edward Hand and his family. Hand, an Irish immigrant and physician, served as Adjutant General to George Washington during the Revolutionary War.   Volunteer tour guides at Rock Ford bring the past to life for museum visitors. A tour guide can be any person aged 18 years and up. No experience is necessary, and trainin