Daniel Faulkner
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Daniel J. Faulkner (December 21, 1955 – December 9, 1981) was a police officer in the U.S. city of Philadelphia who was shot and killed in the line of duty. Mumia Abu-Jamal, a journalist, political activist, and member of the Black Panther Party and MOVE, was arrested and convicted of Faulkner's murder. Abu-Jamal's conviction has since led to a decades-long controversy.
The youngest of seven children, Faulkner was born to an Irish-Catholic family from the southwest side of Philadelphia. His father, who was a railroad worker, died of a sudden heart attack when Danny was only five years old. He was raised by a working mother and his older siblings. Just prior to graduating from high school, Faulkner left to join the United States Army. While in the army, he earned his diploma and an associate's degree in Criminal Justice. Upon leaving the army in 1975, Faulkner worked briefly as a corrections officer, and then later joined the Philadelphia Police Department. While working in law enforcement, Faulkner enrolled in community college to earn his bachelor's degree in criminal justice. He hoped to eventually become a prosecutor for the district attorney's office. Faulkner had settled down with his wife Maureen (married in 1979) in Philadelphia and had been serving with the Philadelphia Police Department for five years.
According to the prosecution in the later murder trial, which ended with the conviction of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the following events happened on December 9, 1981:
On December 9, 1981, Faulkner pulled over William Cook, the brother of Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook). While Faulkner attempted to arrest Cook, Abu-Jamal arrived and shot Faulkner in the back. Officer Faulkner managed to return fire before falling to the ground, wounding Abu-Jamal in the chest. However, Abu-Jamal stood over the fallen officer and emptied the remaining chambers of his revolver into him at close range, one of the shots striking Faulkner in the face.
This sequence of events is disputed by supporters of Abu-Jamal.
Abu-Jamal was taken into custody by other officers arriving at the scene after he collapsed nearby. Daniel Faulkner was pronounced dead the same night. Abu-Jamal was immediately charged, and, in 1982, convicted of Faulkner's murder.
The Daniel Faulkner Memorial Highway is a section of U.S. Route 1 that passes through Northeast Philadelphia.
After Daniel Faulkner's murder, Maureen Faulkner moved to California, where she manages a medical office of a Ventura country doctor. In 1994, upon discovering that National Public Radio planned to broadcast a series of commentaries taped by Abu-Jamal from death row, Maureen began a campaign of her own to counter the "Free Mumia" movement. Since then, she has made numerous speeches and public appearances in support of upholding Abu-Jamal's conviction and subsequent death sentence.[1] On December 9, 2001, she returned to Philadelphia to attend a ceremony honoring Daniel Faulkner on the 20th anniversary of his murder.
