Officer Jason Falconer received the Congressional Badge of Bravery for actions he took while off duty. Falconer was a part-time officer from nearby Avon, Minnesota when he stopped a mass stabbing in a St. Cloud, Minnesota mall in September of 2016 But Falconer’s more than just a heroic cop. He’s also a professional firearms trainer for the Minnesota carry permit. He’s made it his business to train others to be aware and ready to stop an attack with deadly force, if necessary. Yesterday, he received a piece of hardware for the actions he took in saving lives that day
At a ceremony on Thursday, U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith and U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer presented Officer Jason Falconer with a Congressional Badge of Bravery, which honors exceptional acts of bravery from law enforcement.
Falconer, a firearms instructor and competitive shooter, was off-duty and shopping at Crossroads Center in St. Cloud in September 2016 when Dahir Adan, dressed in a security guard uniform, stabbed and injured 10 people at the mall. Falconer shot Adan after Adan lunged at him with a knife.
Jason Falconer started as a firearms training professional in 2003 when the Minnesota Personal Protection Act (the state’s shall-issue right to carry law) went into effect. He taught for 10 years before acquiring property and establishing his own shooting range in South Waite Park.
Falconer is a dedicated member of the gun culture. Accord to his bio, he’s still a part-timer with the Avon PD. It’s not unusual for police firearms instructors to maintain a part time position in the local police department, especially if the department is small.
The Avon Police Department is currently not a 24-hour department. We are staffed with 3 full-time officers and 5 part-time officers. If you receive the answering service, police staff may not be on-duty and may not be able to return your call immediately.
Having a proficient firearms trainer on staff part time offers significant advantages to both the department and the instructor. The instructor can maintain their LEOSA status while being able to carry anywhere in United States. The department can keep its officers qualified and conduct training with minimal additional expense. While Jason is a certified peace officer, there are many who are not, who are just as proficient as Jason Falconer.
Congratulations, Officer Falconer. You did well.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Good job.
I tip my hat to this man.
He did the PotG a huge favor!
We are honored to have a fellow gun enthusiast like this in our ranks.
Had Falconer been a part-time Broward deputy, he would have waited in the parking lot until the screaming stopped.
Off duty, got a medal, Whoopi fuckin Doo. What about the DGU’s that are just plain old civilians, what do they get? Detained n fucked with for at least two hours
oh no, you poor thing
Next time you step up and stop someone that is on a stabbing rampage in a mall let’s hope you only get detained for 1 hour and 59 minutes
He’s got a point, though.
Every dgu that I’m aware of the intended victim was confronted by the bad guy.
None of these intended victims ran into a situation to rescue others. In point of fact, RF and many regular commenters here have stated, time and again, that they carry a gun to protect them and theirs, not others.
Regardless of his profession, and it is the profession you have a beef with, we can recognize that this individual did what was right and brave.
I don’t recall the entire original story but just going by what’s posted here 10 people were stabbed and Falconer shot Adan when Adan charged at him. Just going by that it sounds specifically like what you’re saying. He didn’t rush in for the others, he defended himself.
I’m not minimizing what the guy did, he likely stopped many others from getting stabbed. But had this guy not been a part time police officer he probably would have been detained and questioned for hours and I think it likely he would not have gotten a medal.
So, Falconer didn’t see 10 people being stabbed and only drew his weapon when the threat was to him? Why didn’t he run the other way after seeing people being stabbed if his only motive was self protection?
As for being ‘detained’. What do you want? Every shooting has to be investigated. Do you prefer that the shooter tells the cop simply that it was self defense and then he walks away?
I just shot you for looking at my date with lust in your eyes. First cop rolls up and I shout ‘self defense’ and walk?
And I know of the disgruntled meme of a cop having time to get his story straight before being questioned.
Guess what? Every person has that right. You have the right to not answer questions until you have a lawyer present, just like a cop.
As for the medal. Lots of non cop citizens have recieved medals for saving folks.
“Having a proficient firearms trainer on staff part time offers significant advantages to both the department and the instructor. The instructor can maintain their LEOSA status while being able to carry anywhere in United States.”
Whilst the officer did perform a notable act, the quoted text above is what was most notable to me. In other words, ‘some animals are more equal than others.’
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