Birmingham Police Officer Arrested After Faking Distress Call

BIRMINGHAM, AL — A Birmingham police officer has been terminated after authorities learned he staged a shooting and fabricated a distress call. Officer Kieth Buchanan was fired this week, according to Chief Patrick Smith, and was arrested Friday.

The termination stems from an incident early in the morning of July 21, when police received a call for an officer needing assistance at a railroad stop near Tarrant. Buchanan reportedly put out a call of shots fired and never finished his traffic stop radio transmission to the dispatcher.

A Tarrant police officer found the patrol vehicle with bullet holes but could not find Buchanan, according to an Alabama Media Group report. He was eventually found some distance away near the tracks, and was unable to speak.

Birmingham police, UAB police and Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies block off the roadways, including the interstate, to get the officer to UAB Hospital’s Trauma Center. When Buchanan arrived at the hospital, it was discovered that he had not been shot, and was not injured at all.

Smith said they thoroughly investigated the entire situation and concluded the radio call, help call, injury and damage to the police car were all part of a hoax.

Buchanan has been charged with criminal mischief, false reporting and discharging a firearm in city limits.

At a press conference Thursday, Smith referred to the incident as a case of "stolen valor."

Buchanan has served as a police officer since 2012.

According to records obtained by Alabama Media Group, Buchanan was reprimanded for filing a false report in relation to a public intoxication arrest in April of 2016. As well, in July of 2015, Buchanan took possession of a stolen gun from a theft suspect and kept the weapon for four months without notifying a supervisor.

In 2014, he failed to sign a warrant on a man he arrested for disorderly conduct.