A Message from National Secretary Jerry Atnip

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

At the 54th Biennial Conference held in August in Mobile, Alabama, the Grand Lodge was unanimous in its resolve to inform our members and the rest of the nation about the Danny Faulkner story. The members attending the conference were equally adamant that we also inform them of those persons and corporations that are attempting to keep his killer from receiving the justice he deserves. As your National Secretary, I am proud to take a leading role in this effort. Danny's story is an important one to tell and we will do everything in our power to see that he is remembered.

We have posted the lists of supporters of Danny Faulkner's killer which appeared in paid advertisements in The New York Times in 1995 and in 1998.

Brother Faulkner was murdered on December 9, 1981. His killer was convicted in 1982. This has been and will continue to be a dramatic and prolonged struggle. The Fraternal Order of Police has been involved at every turn demanding justice for Brother Faulkner. We have taken up the issue once again with renewed energy and determination. Allow us to do so in a way that will be the most effective and in keeping with the spirit of our departed brother.

Danny, We Hardly Knew You Danny Faulkner was the kind of young man every father and mother wants for a son, every child wants for a brother and every person wants for a friend. He was easygoing and friendly, yet organized and focused. He was a hard worker who always had time for his friends. Danny was the youngest of seven children, 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. Danny was raised by a working mother and his older siblings. After school, he would walk to the home of Tom and Trish Faulkner. Tom was Danny's big brother. There, Danny would play with neighborhood kids and do his homework. He loved to run around the corner to a neighborhood clothier and pretend he worked there. He would dress up in a tie, then pick up a broom and sweep their walks. Danny left high school prior to graduation and joined the U.S. Army. It wasnít that he didnít like school, but this was a kid who had matured beyond many of his classmates. He just needed to get his life started. While serving in the armed forces, Danny continued his studies, earning his high school diploma as well as an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice.

Upon fulfilling his military service, Danny went home to Philadelphia to began his law enforcement career. His first position was that of a corrections officer. In 1975, he was able to make the career move he hoped and worked for and became an officer of the Philadelphia Police Department. Being the organized and focused young man he was, it wasnít long before he had purchased a home of his own in his old neighborhood in southwest Philly. Not long after, he began dating the young woman that would become his wife. Danny and Maureen dated about a year, were engaged for another six months and were married in the fall of 1979. Maureen remembers Danny as easygoing, while she was the one who always worried. He was the extrovert. Once a month, the couple would host a get-together of all their friends and the group would play cards in the Faulkner home until the wee hours of the morning. Danny was the neighborhood leader for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the organizer of the Annual Softball Marathon to benefit that charity. One of his childhood friends had suffered from the disease and Danny felt strongly about helping in the fight against it. Danny loved the outdoors and when deer season opened in Pennsylvania, you would find him stalking the forests of the Pocono Mountains. Maureen, too, loved beauty and the freshness of the Poconos. The couple were saving their money with dreams of purchasing a vacation home there. Danny loved being a police officer and planned to spend the rest of his working life advancing his career in law enforcement. He had enrolled in community college and was working toward his Bachelorís Degree in Criminal Justice Administration. He also had plans to go on to law school, hoping to ultimately become a prosecutor in the District Attorney's Office. Danny Faulkner was a young man with clear goals and dreams. He truly represents an American Story and the best traditions of our nation. He was raised in a loving family and was building his own family with the same love and determination with which he had grown up. He took time to serve his country. He was bright and energetic--caring and giving to his neighborhood, to his friends and to his profession. Mumia Abu-Jamal did not just kill a cop. He murdered a loving husband, a caring son, a brother to all around him and a friend to those he served. Mumia shot and killed a piece of America, a piece of America we would all like to see more of today.

The Murder of Officer Danny Faulkner
the real victims--a police officer and his wife

On December 9, 1981, at approximately 3:55 a.m., Officer Danny Faulkner, a five year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, made a traffic stop at Locust Street near Twelfth Street. The car stopped by Officer Faulkner was being driven by William Cook. After making the stop, Danny called for assistance on his police radio and requested a police wagon to transport a prisoner. Unbeknownst to him, William Cook's brother, Wesley (aka Mumia Abu-Jamal) was across the street. As Danny attempted to handcuff William Cook, Mumia Abu-Jamal ran from across the street and shot the officer in the back. Danny turned and was able to fire one shot that struck Abu-Jamal in the chest; the wounded officer then fell to the pavement. Mumia Abu-Jamal stood over the downed officer and fired four more times from close range, one bullet struck him directly in the face. Mumia Abu-Jamal was found still at the scene of the shooting by officers who arrived there within seconds. The murderer was slumped against the curb in front of his brotherís car. In his possession was a .38 caliber revolver that records showed Mumia had purchased months earlier. The chamber of the gun had five spent cartridges. A cab driver, as well as other pedestrians, had witnessed the brutal slaying and identified Mumia Abu-Jamal as the killer both at the scene and during his trial. On July 2, 1982, after being tried before a jury of ten whites and two blacks, Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of murdering Officer Danny Faulkner. The next day, the jury sentenced him to death after deliberating for less than 4 hours. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania heard the defendantís appeals and upheld the conviction on March 6, 1989.

Officer Danny Faulkner joined the ranks of those courageous officers who have given their lives to keep our nation's streets safe and free. Danny and his wife, Maureen, had been married only slightly more than a year. Now, she was left a widow with only her memories of the young officer to comfort her and dreams of the life they could have shared together. Danny and Maureen Faulkner are the real victims of that horrible night in December, 1981. It is for them that we seek justice.