SENATOBIA, Miss. — A woman said she was wrongly arrested on Mother’s Day over parking at a Mississippi business.
However, local authorities said it didn’t have to end that way.
Video captured by a witness showed the moments after Breshari Faulkner was taken to the ground and handcuffed.
Faulkner was accused by the Senatobia Police Department of illegally parking in a handicap spot in a Walmart parking lot.
Mississippi woman says she had handicap placard
NewsNation affiliate WREG followed up with Faulkner, who said before cameras came on, she had just dropped off her grandmother and parked in the handicap spot while displaying a handicap placard.
Then the police tapped on her window.
“I opened my door and I said, ‘Yes ma’am.’ She said, ‘You parked in a handicap,'” Faulkner claimed. “I said, ‘I am sorry, officer.’ I said I can move, but I got the handicap sticker.”
In a statement, the police department said, “The officer observed the vehicle from the time it pulled into the parking lot and parked and did not observe anyone exit the vehicle.”
However, about six minutes into the video posted on Facebook, you can hear Faulkner’s grandmother mentioned.
Faulkner also showed WREG the handicap sticker. Its expiration date isn’t until Sept. 30, 2028.
Police claim woman wouldn’t show ID, resisted arrest
The police department said it is Mississippi law to show identification on demand when operating a motor vehicle. The officer seen in the video said Faulkner refused and cursed at the officer. When the officer grabbed Faulkner’s arm, she said Faulkner resisted.
But Faulkner said that’s not the whole story.
“While I got my license in my hand, I’m trying to tell her I want a sergeant,” Faulkner said. “It’s getting loud. She’s getting vocal. It’s getting hotter and hotter with the situation.”
Officer allegedly threatened to shock Mississippi woman with Taser
Faulkner said what’s not in the statement is that the female officer threatened to shock her with a Taser in front of her children and threatened to call Child Protective Services.
“I shouldn’t have to be spending my Mother’s Day sitting in a cell because of a handicap sticker,” Faulkner said.
The police department said it receives weekly handicap parking complaints and that while it may seem like a minor violation, it is not for those who need those parking spots. However, Faulkner said her grandmother is one of those who need those parking spots.
“For me to have charges thrown on me wasn’t right at all,” she said. “And I am not settling for that.”