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 attack, recovered enough to walk again, and later became a Southern Baptist minister whose story was told in the 2014 film Badge of Faith. He served more than 22 years with the Roanoke Police Department as a patrolman and crime prevention officer before the assault ended his law enforcement career.¹

The 2008 Attack on Williamson Road

On the evening of Saturday, May 10, 2008, Lawrence was working an off-duty security detail when a radio report came in about a woman injured at a Go Mart convenience store in the 3500 block of Williamson Road Northwest in Roanoke.² He spotted two suspects in a vehicle at the intersection of Huntington Boulevard and Hillcrest Avenue and tried to stop them. Both ran.

Lawrence caught up to one suspect and was in the process of arresting him when the second attacked. He was kicked in the head, beaten, and left unconscious on Hillcrest Avenue. A search warrant later filed in Roanoke Circuit Court noted a visible shoe print on his head.² The blows 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 probation for the rest of his life upon release.³ Lawrence has publicly said he forgave Steele.¹

Recovery From Paralysis

Doctors initially told Lawrence he might never walk again.¹ He was transferred to a rehabilitation center in Atlanta, Georgia, for extensive physical therapy, and during that stay he began counseling and praying with other patients and their families. Months of rehabilitation brought him back to walking with crutches,⁴ and about a year and a half after the attack he was walking unaided.⁵

He returned to the Roanoke Police Department in August 2009 as a crime prevention officer and retired from the force in July 2010.¹

From Patrol Car to Pulpit

Lawrence was already a deacon and Sunday School teacher at Hollins Road Baptist Church and had been considering full-time ministry before the attack, according to his pastor, the Rev. Mark Washington.⁶ After leaving the police department, he preached regularly at churches and nursing homes around the Roanoke Valley.

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 went on to pastor Hollins Road Baptist Church in Roanoke County for several years before retiring from pastoral work.⁷

Badge of Faith

Lawrence’s story was adapted into Badge of Faith, a feature film produced by StoneTable Films and directed by Donald Leow. The project was spearheaded by Steve Woolwine, a childhood friend of Lawrence who served as executive producer, and written by Rick Garside.⁷ It was shot in Roanoke using many local residents as extras.

Lawrence had initially turned down Hollywood offers out of concern they would not reflect his faith. He and his wife Brenda prayed about the StoneTable project before agreeing to it. Actor Andy Lauer portrayed Lawrence, and Bryan, Brenda, their son, and their daughter-in-law appear in cameo roles in the closing scene. Leow described the film as closely autobiographical, saying “almost everything is true” and that most characters and scenes were drawn directly from Lawrence’s life, though some names were changed.⁷

The movie was initially titled Kicked by Grace during 2014 production and was released under its final title through Christiano Film Group.⁵ Lawrence has summed up his view of the recovery 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
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WSLS. Movie on Officer Bryan Lawrence’s Life Being Filmed in Roanoke
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WDBJ-7. Bryan Lawrence Ministry Report
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Pure Flix. Behind the Scenes of a True Story – Badge of Faith