BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama police officer is facing criminal charges after investigators found that he faked a distress call in which he claimed to have been injured.
Birmingham Police Chief Patrick Smith said Officer Keith Buchanan faces charges of criminal mischief, false reporting and discharging a firearm in the city limits. Buchanan, who has been on the force since 2012, will be taken into custody "once this goes through the proper channels," Smith said at a news conference Thursday.
Smith described the incident as a case of “stolen valor” and “stolen honor.”
Watch Chief Smith's news conference on the case below.
"This officer did a lot on that night to present a false image of heroism," Smith said. "He endangered the lives of the community by discharging his firearm, and also other officers as they responded from all over the city to be at his side and to do everything that they can to help."
Smith said Buchanan was patrolling a rural area near some railroad tracks near the city of Tarrant shortly after 1 a.m. on July 21 when he put out a call for assistance. Dispatchers could hear shots being fired in the background of the call.
Buchanan went radio silent in the middle of the call.
For the next 30 minutes, dispatchers were unable to reach him and his fellow officers frantically searched for him.
"Then, a citizen noticed an abandoned police car along the railroad tracks with a bullet hole through the front window," Smith said.
Tarrant police officers responded to the scene, where they found Buchanan lying on the ground, “appearing to be unconscious and holding his gun and moaning from his injuries,” the chief said.
AL.com reported that Buchanan was rushed to a hospital, but his injuries were unclear.
Over the next several weeks, Birmingham police investigators spent “countless hours” searching for a suspect and reviewing evidence, Smith said Thursday. In the end, they found nothing.
"Our investigation has concluded that this entire event was a hoax. The radio call, the shots fired, the help call, lying injured on the tracks, the damage to the police car -- all a hoax," Smith said. "We found nothing to support the officer's accounts of this incident.
“And I can’t say it enough: We will always be in relentless pursuit of our suspects, even when one of those suspects is one of our own.”
Detectives are consulting with the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office to secure arrest warrants to bring Buchanan in, the chief said.
The officer was relieved of his duties last week and placed on administrative leave.
AL.com, which obtained Buchanan's personnel file, reported that he has faced numerous disciplinary issues in the past. In 2016, he was reprimanded for filing a false report regarding a public intoxication arrest.
In July 2015, Buchanan confiscated a stolen gun from a suspect, but kept it for four months instead of logging it in as evidence. In November of that year, he falsified a report claiming he had found the gun.
The year before, he failed to sign a warrant in a disorderly conduct arrest and "finally" admitted he forgot to do so, AL.com reported.
Buchanan's fraudulent call for help came days after a fellow officer, Officer Cullen Stafford, was shot up to seven times during a shootout on a robbery call in downtown Birmingham. Smith and Mayor Randall Woodfin's office reported that Stafford, who was shot the day before his 36th birthday, was hit in the face, the torso and the leg.
Smith said at the time that Stafford’s bulletproof vest likely saved his life. The officer required multiple surgeries and is still recovering from his injuries.
The suspect in that case was killed.
"Our officers put their lives on the line every single day in this city to protect and serve the people of Birmingham," Woodfin said after Stafford's shooting. "I think it's important for all of us -- the mayor, council, citizens -- to uplift them. Today we are focused on Officer Stafford, and we are in full support of this police department."
Buchanan’s alleged hoax and Stafford’s shooting took place six months after the Birmingham Police Department lost an officer in the line of duty.
Sgt. WyTasha Lamar Carter, 44, was shot and killed and his partner, Officer Luke Allums, was wounded Jan. 13 as they tried to arrest two men breaking into vehicles outside a bar.
One suspect was wounded by return gunfire. Both were taken into custody.
The Officer Down Memorial Page says Carter, a U.S. Air Force veteran, served for eight years as a Birmingham officer. He had another nine years with other agencies under his belt.
"He was a hero, and I will be forever proud of his dedication and service," Smith said of Carter.
“This has been a very difficult year for the Birmingham Police Department,” Smith said. “We’ve had a number of trials and tribulations that we’ve had to go through. “But somehow, we’ve managed to prevail.”