PUNCH AND JUDY SHOW Memorial for Jacob Richard Faust

Jacob grew up in the San Diego area. He was very quiet as a child, but had a constant twinkle in his eyes and a blinding smile. He always loved a good practical joke and had a magical sense of humor. Jake spent his high school years playing guitar in a worship band at Horizon Christian Fellowship and also spent that time counseling kids for Youth Development International, a suicide prevention hotline. He was given the Phillip Award for discipleship at Horizon High School where he graduated in 1998. Jake loved people and always looked at the world through eyes of wonder and astonishment. He had the heart of a poet and the eyes of a seer.

Jacob's passion was music, and he could play any instrument he picked up. His most cherished possession was a 1903 pump organ on which he composed many pieces of song. He would put it in the back of his van and haul it to any place someone would allow him an audience. He loved a wide variety of music, with favorites including Django Reinhardt and Tom Waits. He also loved to dance and could move as gracefully or as comically as he chose to at any given moment.

He was a former funeral director at Glen Abbey Mortuary, where he was well known and served people with a heart of compassion. Jacob was a gentle man, an amazingly talented dancer, a writer, and an actor with an incredibly sweet disposition and a smile always ready. He was well-read and followed current events with a keen interest.

On April 4, 2005, Jacob Faust was shot to death by San Diego Police Officer Keaton ID 4495 and Officer Holliday ID 5030 after a "routine" traffic stop for apparent unwillingness to get out of his van. He was 25. Jake had previously witnessed and been exposed to harassment and abuse by the San Diego Police Department and had filed a complaint against them just a few weeks before. The Internal Affairs division had been investigating this in the weeks prior to his murder. Jacob was a pacifist. He had no criminal history.

A Wrongful Death suit was filed against the City of San Diego, which was settled out of court 4 years later, unanimously approved by the San Diego City Council and awarding the family $325,000. The family's decision to settle was largely based on San Diego's long, extremely pro-police history, and the probability that the City would immediately appeal any Judgment made against them, dragging the costly litigation on for years, and that it was not possible to affect police policy change through a civil lawsuit.

Biographical data from https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2302096/bio.