A couple of years ago, 47-year-old Larry Faulkenberry’s motorcycle parts shop was broken into by burglars. Police recommended he get a video surveillance system and he heeded that advice, installing cameras on nearby poles. Little did he know those same cameras would later exonerate him after police charged him with assaulting a police officer.
His teenage son called police to falsely claim Faulkenberry was drunk and armed with a gun. As he saw police arrive, he stood on his front porch with his arms raised. Three police officers moved toward him and then violently kicked his leg out from underneath him, punching him while he was on the ground. The police claimed he attacked, but the video clearly shows otherwise. From Ars Technicha:
The police report (PDF) by Deputy Michael Taylor, however, claims Faulkenberry wasn't the victim. Taylor asserts that Faulkenberry attacked a deputy.
"I observed Lawrence Faulkenberry push Sergeant Yost with the left side of his body and elbow into a tree causing him to fall and injure his left shin and right knee cap. I observed Lawrence Faulkenberry to forcefully resist Deputies while attempting to lawfully detain him for officer safety. Deputies detained Lawrence Faulkenberry using the least amount of force necessary to gain compliance from Lawrence Faulkenberry.”
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Just like that, on the word of the these officers, Faulkenberry was tossed in jail for 10 days, with bail set at a staggering $807,000. If it weren’t for the video, Faulkenberry would be facing years in prison. Upon seeing the video, Caldwell County District Attorney Fred Weber declined to press charges.
Larry Faulkenberry has filed a federal lawsuit. He suffered numerous injuries:
He said one of the officers rubbed his forehead on the gravel driveway, causing major forehead abrasions. A punch burst blood vessels in his left eye. "My whole face was cut up and lacerated from rocks in the parking area. My knee hurt for about a couple of months from where he planted me on the ground," Faulkenberry said.
He said he suffered a herniated back disc and another is "bone on bone.”
According to Ars Technica, none of the officers have been disciplined or charged with falsifying the police report.