The Senatobia Police Department (SPD) recently released a video showing the arrest of a woman, Breshari Faulkner, in a handicap parking spot in a Walmart parking lot. The woman had a handicap parking tag in her vehicle.
According to Fox 13 Memphis, Mississippi law states that a handicap placard must be used only when a physically disabled person is the driver or passenger of a motor vehicle at the time of its parking.
In releasing the body-camera footage, Senatobia Police said they hoped to clarify the incident as part of their commitment to be transparent with the community.
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The arrest occurred originally on Mother’s Day, May 11. An officer approached Faulkner, who claimed she was parked in a handicap space waiting for her grandmother.
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In the footage released by SPD, an officer knocked on Faulkner’s window and asked Faulkner if she owned the handicap parking tag in her vehicle. Faulkner told the officer that the tag belonged to her grandmother, who had entered the Walmart store.
“I had dropped her off, and she went into the store, but I can move,” Faulkner replied. The officer asked how Faulkner dropped her grandmother off. “I’ll just move,” Faulkner added. The officer then asked Faulkner for her identification.
Faulkner asked what she did, and the officer told her that she was parked in a handicap spot and that she wasn’t allowed to park there.
“Yes, ma’am, but I just said I was going to move. My grandmother, she’s handicapped, and she’s in the store,” Faulkner responded. The officer repeatedly asked if Faulkner’s grandmother came out of the vehicle Faulkner was in. Faulkner again stated, “I’ll just move.” The officer asked how her grandmother could have gotten out of the car with “all this stuff in here.”
“You’re violating handicap parking. Can I see your ID, please?” said the officer, to which Faulkner replied, “I haven’t done anything.”
The officer then told her she had, and once more asked to see her ID, adding, “If I don’t get it, I will arrest you. It’s just simple.”
As Faulkner searched for her identification, the officer pointed out that her children were not properly secured in the car.
“You just sitting up here finding a reason to (expletive) with me,” Faulkner said.
Faulkner claimed that she unbuckled her children as soon as she parked. The officer disagreed, saying that she “came up behind you as soon as you parked. You did not unbuckle them.”
“I want a supervisor or something because you’re feeling real hostile and (expletive),” Faulkner said as she handed over her identification. “I need a supervisor because you’re messing with me for no reason, and I told you I would move. You messing with me for no reason. I do not feel safe with you doing this.”
The officer told Faulkner that she was escalating the situation and then asked Faulkner to step out of the car. Faulkner asked the officer to call somebody else out to the scene.
“Get out of the vehicle now before I make you get out of here. Do you want to do this in front of your children or not?” the officer said as she called other officers over dispatch. The officer then appeared to grab Faulkner as she sat in the car.
The incident visibly escalated as Faulkner asked why she was being grabbed.
The officer could be heard saying, “I have one resisting.” As the officer held onto Faulkner’s arm, Faulkner said, “The (expletive) you doing?” The officer responded, “Get out of the (expletive) vehicle now,” as she pointed a taser at Faulkner.
Faulkner stepped out of the car and placed her hands on the vehicle. The officer ordered Faulkner to the back of the car while Faulkner said, “Why is you grabbing me? You sitting up here using unnecessary force.”
The officer explained that Faulkner was not “working with” her.
The body-camera footage then showed the officer attempting to handcuff Faulkner. During the incident, Faulkner fell to the ground and cried with her hands in front of her. The officer repeatedly told Faulkner to give up her hands. Faulkner continued to cry and asked, “Why are you grabbing me?”
The officer pulled Faulkner’s arm back while Faulkner yelled, “She’s hurting me.” In the car’s reflection, the officer can be seen crouched over Faulkner. Faulkner called for assistance.
The officer got one handcuff on Faulkner and then told someone off-camera, “I didn’t escalate this, ma’am. She did.”
As the officer attempted to get another handcuff on Faulkner, Faulkner kicked the car as she rolled on the ground. Someone told Faulkner, “Stop resisting.” Faulkner yelled back, “She’s twisting my arm. Call another officer, please.” The officer responded that more officers were on the way and got a second handcuff on Faulkner.
“I don’t feel safe in here,” Faulkner continued. “She grabbed me out my car. My kids is in my car.”
The officer then told Faulkner to get up as she held onto the handcuffs. When Faulkner continued to lie on the ground, the officer repeatedly told her to roll over.
The officer’s sergeant arrived at the scene as Faulkner lay on the ground crying. The officers rolled Faulkner over on her side and helped her sit up.
“She grabbed me out my car, and then she stepped on me,” Faulkner told the sergeant. “I told her I was going to move. I told her I was sorry, and I said I was going to move.” The sergeant asked if he could help Faulkner stand up. “I gave her my ID, and she still pulled me out the car,” Faulkner said.
The sergeant calmed her down and assured her that they’ll “get that straightened out.” Faulkner then asked the sergeant to get the female police officer away from her. He then helped her to her feet and led Faulkner to his car.
The officer walked up to a woman who recorded the incident on her cell phone and asked her to call the police station and give a verbal statement about the incident.
Immediately following the incident, Senatobia Police said, “This incident could’ve very easily ended with a citation or even a warning until the actions of the suspect escalated this encounter. I encourage anyone pulled over by a law enforcement officer to comply with their commands. If you believe that an officer acted incorrectly during an encounter, please contact that law enforcement agency so they can investigate the incident.”
Moments after the incident, Faulkner’s grandmother was seen walking up to the car. Faulkner, who believes she was wrongfully arrested, told FOX13 after the incident, “I’m concerned about my safety but overall, I’m concerned for my kids. For her to throw in the threat of CPS (Child Protective Services) and taking away my kids, it just did something to me. I just didn’t want anything to happen to my kids.”
Faulkner was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and a handicap parking violation. Her plan is to fight those charges in court, she said.
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