Police Officer Daniel J. Faulkner

Daniel J. Faulkner

Police Officer Daniel J. Faulkner was shot and killed while making a traffic stop.

Officer Faulkner stopped the driver of a light blue Volkswagen at the corner of Thirteenth and Locust Streets for driving the wrong way down a one-way street. Officer Faulkner had the driver exit the vehicle. As the officer was speaking with the driver, the driver struck him in the face. Officer Faulkner struck the driver back and attempted to take him into custody. As the officer was attempting to subdue the driver, the driver's brother came running to the scene from a parking lot across the street. While Officer Faulkner's back was turned, the brother opened fire, shooting him in the back four times. Officer Faulkner fell to the ground but was able to return fire, hitting the suspect. The wounded suspect was able to fire again as he stood over the fallen officer, shooting him in the face.

The suspect attempted to flee but fell to the ground several feet from where he had just shot the officer. When back-up officers arrived, they found Officer Faulkner mortally wounded and the suspect, murder weapon in hand, laying several feet away.

The 27-year-old suspect, who was a member of the racist group Black Panthers, was charged with murder. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in two separate trials. In December 2001, a federal judge overturned the death sentence and ordered a new sentencing hearing. In December 2011, the district attorney dropped a request for a new sentencing hearing and Officer Faulkner's murderer and was subsequently sentenced to life in prison. In March 2012 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected his appeal to overturn the life sentence.

Officer Faulkner was a U.S. Army veteran. He had served with the Philadelphia Police Department for five years and had previously served with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. He is survived by his wife and is buried in Glenwood Memorial Gardens, Broomall, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

The Black Panthers is a racist, radical group that professed the murders of law enforcement officers. Members and former members of the group were responsible for the murders of at least 15 law enforcement officers and the wounding of dozens more across the nation.