Bryan Lawrence: From Roanoke Police Officer to Badge of Faith

Bryan Lawrence is a former Roanoke, Virginia, police officer who was paralyzed in a May 2008 off-duty assault, regained the ability to walk after months of rehabilitation, and became a Southern Baptist minister whose life inspired the 2014 film Badge of Faith.¹ He served more than 22 years with the Roanoke Police Department as a patrolman and crime prevention officer before his career was cut short by the attack.

The 2008 Attack

On the evening of Saturday, May 10, 2008, Lawrence was working an off-duty security detail when he heard a radio report about a woman injured at a Go Mart convenience store in the 3500 block of Williamson Road Northwest.² He spotted two suspects in a vehicle at the intersection of Huntington Boulevard and Hillcrest Avenue and initiated a traffic stop. Both fled on foot.

Lawrence chased them and was in the process of apprehending one when the second suspect attacked him. He was kicked in the head and beaten, then left unconscious on Hillcrest Avenue. A search warrant later filed in Roanoke Circuit Court noted a visible shoe print on Lawrence’s head.² The assault broke his neck. He was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

Charges and Sentencing

Two men were charged. William Steele Jr., 18, was charged with malicious wounding of a police officer and felony obstruction of justice. Dantonio Foster, 25, was charged with felony obstruction and with malicious wounding tied to the earlier incident at the Go Mart.²

Steele was tried as an adult and convicted of aggravated malicious wounding. A Roanoke Circuit Court judge sentenced him to life in prison, suspended after 15 years, with lifetime probation upon release.³ Lawrence has publicly said he forgave Steele for the attack.¹

Recovery

Doctors initially told Lawrence he might never walk again.¹ He was transferred to a rehabilitation center in Atlanta, Georgia, for extensive physical therapy. During that stay, he counseled and prayed with other patients and their families, an experience he credits with deepening a call toward ministry that had been building before the attack.

Lawrence regained the ability to walk with crutches after months of therapy.⁴ He has described a spiritual call in December 2008 to get out of his wheelchair as a turning point.¹ About a year and a half after the assault, he was walking without assistance.⁵ In October 2010, he completed a 5-kilometer race in Vinton, Virginia.

Lawrence returned to the Roanoke Police Department in August 2009 as a crime prevention officer. He retired in July 2010 after more than two decades of service.¹

From Officer to Pastor

Before the attack, Lawrence was already a deacon and Sunday School teacher at Hollins Road Baptist Church and had preached at churches around the Roanoke Valley.⁶ After retiring from policing, he preached regularly at churches and nursing homes across the region.

In February 2011, he was ordained as a Southern Baptist minister after a council of ministers and deacons interviewed him about his beliefs and testimony.¹ He later served as pastor at Hollins Road Baptist Church in Roanoke County before retiring from pastoral work.⁷

Badge of Faith

Lawrence’s story became the basis for Badge of Faith, produced by StoneTable Films and directed by Donald Leow. The project was led by Steve Woolwine, a childhood friend of Lawrence who served as executive producer, and written by Rick Garside.⁷ It was shot in Roanoke, with local residents as extras.

Lawrence had turned down earlier Hollywood offers over concerns his faith would not be reflected. After Woolwine introduced him to Leow, Lawrence and his wife Brenda prayed about the project before agreeing.⁷ Andy Lauer played Lawrence, and Bryan, Brenda, their son, and their daughter-in-law appear in cameo roles in the closing scene.

Leow said the film hewed close to the record: “Almost everything is true,” noting that while some names were changed, most characters and scenes were drawn directly from Lawrence’s life. Lawrence has summarized his outlook plainly: “Everything they said I would never be able to do, God made those things happen.”⁷

1
Roanoke Times. Former Roanoke Police Officer Bryan Lawrence Profile
2
Police1. Cop Assaulted During Pursuit Left Paralyzed
3
Roanoke Times. Man Sentenced for Attack on Officer Bryan Lawrence
4
Alamy / AP Photo / The Roanoke Times. Former Roanoke Police Officer Bryan Lawrence at Cave Rock Baptist Church
5
WSLS. Movie on Officer Bryan Lawrence’s Life Being Filmed in Roanoke
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WDBJ-7. Bryan Lawrence Ministry Report
7
Pure Flix. Behind the Scenes of a True Story – Badge of Faith