The choice is yours of which side you support, I made my choice

On December 9, 1981 at approximately 0351 hours Philadelphia Police officer Daniel Faulkner pulled over a vehicle.  Before he exited his car he radioed for back up.   It seems apparent that Officer Faulkner recognized the subject as someone he knew to have an active warrant for his arrest.  Along with requesting back up he requested a paddy wagon for transporting prisoners.  While attempting to handcuff a subject that did in fact have a warrant (William Cook) a struggle ensued to get handcuffs on the suspect according to witnesses.   

According to four eyewitnesses the brother of William Cook, Wesley Cook aka (Mumia Abu-Jamal) ran from a parking lot across from the traffic stop and witnesses observed Mumia shoot Officer Faulkner in the back.  Officer Faulkner fell to the ground on his back and witness said he fired into the chest of his attacker while he lay wounded on his back.  The attacker fired four more shots into the officer while he literally stood over him finally shooting officer Faulkner in the head killing him.  The attacker tried to flee but collapsed at the front of William Cooks car.  Just after 0352 hours approximately 90 seconds after Faulkner requested back up, officer Shoemaker arrived on scene to find Faulkner dead and Mumia slumped over the curb.  Mumia was wearing a shoulder holster but his .38 revolver (purchased by Mumia himself) was on the sidewalk next to him.  Officer Shoemaker gave him commands to “freeze” but Mumia reached for the gun and attempted to raise it to shoot at Shoemaker.  But the chest wound from Faulkner’s gun had sapped most of the strength out of Mumia so as he was struggling to bring his gun back up Officer Shoemaker, rather than shoot and kill the subject uses less force than he was authorized to and kicked the Mumia causing him to drop the gun.  Shoemaker kicked the gun away and struggled with the suspect to take him into custody.

 Three witnesses on scene confirmed that Mumia was the shooter as he was placed in the paddy wagon.  While at the hospital he made a spontainous utterance to the hospital staff treating him “I shot the mother f***** and I hope the mother f***** dies”.  So let’s review the facts.  Officer Faulkner was shot and killed at a traffic stop.  The shooting was witnessed by several people.  The shooter of Officer Faulkner was observed by witnesses being shot in the chest as he was shooting the officer in the face.  Mumia Abu-Jamal was found at the front of the car driven by his brother at the traffic stop with a gunshot wound from (Faulkner’s gun) in his chest.  Next to him was a revolver with 5 spent casings and one unfired round.  Mumia was wearing a shoulder holster for the same gun that was laying next to him that he was found to have purchased.  Seems like pretty overwhelming evidence right?   Well a jury of ten whites and 2 blacks convicted him after two hours of deliberation.  He was sentenced to death after three hours of deliberation.  His case made it all the way up to the wise nine (US Supreme Court) and his conviction and death sentence was upheld.

 Mumia never once said he didn’t shoot and kill Officer Faulkner at trial.  His bother never once testified that his brother didn’t shoot Officer Faulkner.  He merely stated he was innocent of the charges.  He said this because he felt killing an officer was justified.  His radicalist Black Panther roots assured this.  There are people who feel Mumia is a political prisoner.  I am not kidding look it up.  Paul Newman, Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream and a host of other intellectuals argue that he is a political prisoner.  16 cities have included him as an honorary member of their city even though he sits on death row.  Paris France named a street after him to show their support for this political prisoner.  Why, Because its sounds good to them.  Somehow the supporters of Mumia seem to be blind to the fact that Mumia’s bullets were found in the back and brain of Officer Faulkner.  How does that happen?  I will tell you how.  In typical radical movements like the Black Panthers they were documented to set up ambushes on police officers (the government oppression)  Am I the only person who finds it beyond coincidental that Mumia “happened” to be across from his brothers traffic stop at 3:50AM with a gun waiting?  But to the radical left Mumia is a hero and even today you have people posting “Free Mumia” on Facebook and other places every day.  What is it in society that makes people think that he is a hero?  I cannot answer that.  Those that consider him a political prisoner point to the fact that he was denied the right to defend himself.  Well at first he wasn’t, but after he repeatedly did not follow the rules and could not contain his outbursts.  From the onset, Mumia felt the rules did not apply to him.  He should be able to kill whomever he wants to and the court should not be allowed to tell him when he can and cannot talk.  He was empowered by the supporters who felt he had been “set up”.

You will need to choose for yourself which side you fall on.  But know this.  There are groups out there today that are even more radical than the Black Panthers were back then.  They not only feel it’s acceptable to kill police officers, they delight in it.  Look no further than Youtube and see the comments on officers murdered.  I saw one video showing the cold blooded murder of an officer.  The officer pulled a truck over and as soon as it came to a stop the driver jumped out and opened fire on the officer as he was getting out of his patrol car.  The dash cam captured the whole thing.  The video was titled “Making Bacon” and praised the shooter for just “doing what needed to be done”. 

One thing I have learned is that wackjobs come in all shapes and sizes.  It does not discriminate and encompasses all races and classes.  You can never be too prepared or vigilant.  I just hope that if I get killed on duty that worthless souls do not delight in my death and praise my killer.  I am afraid that not even gods power would be enough to keep me from haunting them deeper into their own misery.   

http://www.danielfaulkner.com/bio.html