Alleged intruder shot by off-duty policeman
Incident occurred in Southaven home
A Southaven man is in the Shelby County Jail awaiting extradition to Mississippi after he was wounded Monday by an off-duty Memphis police officer, and former Officer of the Year, inside a Southaven home.
Southaven police Tuesday identified the suspect at David Clinton Praytor, 36, who lives in Southaven but also has lived in the Memphis area.
The MPD officer, though not identified by Sout haven police, has been confirmed as Brian Falatko, who was the 2010 Memphis Police Officer of the Year. Falatko has been involved in several other incidents, in which he was not at fault, while on-duty.
According to Southaven police, officers were called to home in the 3000 block of Chandler Drive about 12:45 p.m. Monday. Falatko told officers he arrived at the home with his children and found the suspect inside.
Falatko told Southaven officers he was armed and fired shots at the intruder, striking him once in the upper torso. The suspect was in the driveway when officers arrived. He was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto, but then transferred to the Re- gional Medical Center in Memphis. No one else was injured in the incident.
Praytor will be extradited on a burglary charge, police said. Praytor has a leng t hy a r rest histor y in Memphis, including charges of aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, DUI, theft and disorderly conduct.
According to public records, the home where the incident happened is owned by Margaret Falatko. The two were married in 2011.
Brian Falatko’s name has surfaced in news accounts several times over the past few years. In 2009,
Falatko, responding to a robbery, wounded a suspect who opened fire on him, according to police accounts.
In 2011, he was dragged by a vehicle after a traffic stop at Claybrook and Jackson. The driver, Steve Nelson, 29, pleaded guilty to reckless aggravated assault and received a suspended two-year sentence.
In 201 2, Falatko was struck near Beale and Front while he and other off icers were directing tra ff ic. Aggravated assault charges against Ve- ronica Yates, who was accused of intentionally hitting Falatko with her Mercedes, were dismissed after she attended anger management classes and performed community service.
And in 2013, Falatko received serious head injuries when he was pushed through a window at B.B. King’s Blues Club on Beale while trying to help his partner break up a confrontation outside the club. One of the those involved in the confrontation, Jon Riley, 27, of Memphis, was charged with aggravated assault, public intoxication, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.