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Woman said she was wrongfully arrested over handicap parking space

By Brian Didlake May 13, 2025 | 9:06 AM

SENATOBIA, Miss. — A Mid-South woman said she was wrongly arrested on Mother’s Day over parking at a Mississippi business.

However, Senatobia Police said it didn’t have to end that way.

Video captured by a witness showed the moments after a woman named Breshari Faulkner was taken to the ground and handcuffed.

Faulkner was accused by Senatobia Police of illegally parking in a handicap spot in a Walmart parking lot.

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 said. “I said, ‘I am sorry, officer.’ I said I can move, but I got the handicap sticker.”

According to the State of Mississippi Department of Revenue, “the Disabled Placard is a removable windshield placard that is hung from the rearview mirror of a vehicle when you park in a disabled parking space. The placard must be used only when a physically disabled person is the driver or passenger of the motor vehicle at the time of its parking. It is illegal to park in a parking space reserved for persons with disabilities if you do not have the correct vehicle plates or parking permit. You can use the vehicle plates or placard in Mississippi and other states.​”

Senatobia Police sent a statement saying, “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 Facebook Live, you can hear Faulkner’s grandmother mentioned.

Faulkner also showed WREG the handicap sticker. Its expiration date isn’t until September 30, 2028.

Senatobia Police said it is Mississippi Law to show identification on demand when operating a motor vehicle.

The officer seen in the video claimed Faulkner refused and cursed at the officer. When the officer grabbed Faulkner’s arm, she claimed that Faulkner resisted.

But Faulkner claims 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 getting vocal. It’s getting hotter and hotter with the situation.”

Faulkner said what’s not in the statement is that the female officer threatened to tase her 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.

Senatobia Police said they get weekly handicap parking complaints, adding that while it may seem like a minor violation, it is not for those who need those parking spots.

However, Faulkner claims her grandmother is one of those people 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.”