East Texas dashcam video goes viral

KILGORE, TX (KLTV) - An East Texas detective is becoming an internet sensation, but not for his heroics this time.

In the dashcam video, Detective Sergeant David Falco and Detective John Rowe were searching a car on a routine traffic stop. Suddenly, Falco rolled down an embankment. He quickly - and gracefully - caught himself and popped back up.

"That was just one of those moments that was funny. It was just an off-the-wall moment that just happened. It wasn't anything that was expected to happen. It was just like, 'Oops, that happened. I hope no one saw me embarrass myself like that. Hey, let's get up and go on,'" Falco said. 

The dashcam video is actually six years old, but was just posted for the world to see on Wednesday on the Kilgore Police Department's Facebook page. Since then, the comments and 'likes' have poured in.

"They came to me and said, 'Hey would you mind if we post that video?' And I said, 'Not a problem,'" laughed Falco. "I mean, I think it's funny and it shows the lighter side of what we do."

"I was just trying to make light of the situation. I was glad I didn't cut myself on a bottle rolling around in a ditch off of [Highway] 259 North," said Falco. "When I got up all I could think off was, 'OK let's just be comical about it.'"

The dashcam wasn't recording at the time of the fall. But right after Falco fell, Rowe ran back to the car and turned on the camera, which retrieves and saves the last minute of video when a recording is started.

"I thought it might be a good idea to record it. Maybe it would come in handy one day," Rowe said.

As a 22-year veteran of the department with numerous awards, Falco's not worried about a little fall, or looking silly. He says it all comes with the job.

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