That was taken when Chance was a decorated police officer with the Austin, Texas Police Department.
Now he’s facing life in prison just for doing his job.
Jason Johnson asked me to share my story with you – so I pray you’ll take a few moments to read my e-mail and help me fight for my husband.
Our nightmare started back in March of 2019.
My husband and his partner were assigned to the Street Narcotics Unit. I was terrified – because they’re the ones who deal with violent drug cartels. And we have two young kids.
Well, Chance was called on to arrest a known drug trafficker who was holed up in an apartment building in a dangerous part of town.
He knew there’d just been a shooting in that same complex the night before. So when Chance and his partner found the suspect, Paul Mannie, they moved quickly to handcuff him.
But Mannie refused to show his hands.
My husband yelled at the suspect to put his hands up. Over and over, Chance ordered him to get on the ground. Mannie ignored it all.
With his partner’s help, Chance managed to get one of the suspect’s hands into a handcuff. Then it happened.
The suspect began fighting my husband and his partner – then he used his free hand to reach inside his own waistband.
we’re talking about a man with a rap sheet a mile long, including a prior charge of resisting arrest. So Chance and his partner were convinced that Mannie was reaching for a weapon – and their police training kicked in.
Chance and his partner struck the suspect several times in the face. Once he complied, they handcuffed him and placed him under arrest. (Ultimately, Mannie pled guilty and was sentenced to several years in prison!)
my husband made it home safe.
When his shift was over, Chance told me what happened. All I could do was thank God. Over and over. I was so relieved that my husband was okay.
What I didn’t know then was that this nightmare wasn’t over for us. Far from it.
Two years after that arrest, Chance was charged with aggravated assault – just for doing his job. Even though his actions were cleared by SIX different internal investigations.
Now Chance is staring down life in prison.
I’m sitting here shaking my head just thinking about it. If Chance is convicted, I’ll never spend another wedding anniversary with my husband…
…our 5-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter will grow up without their dad…
…and he won’t be home for the kids’ birthday parties or graduations or any of the milestones of growing up.
I admit, when Chance was charged, my emotions went from unbelief to anger to despair… and back again. Especially when I learned that the prosecutor in this case, Jose Garza, owes his election to a wad of campaign cash from none other than George Soros.
That’s when I realized that the anti-cop crowd is trying to make an example out of my husband. They want pay-back for their voters with the conviction of a wrongly accused police officer.
It makes me wonder why anyone would ever sign up to join law enforcement these days.
But over 9 years ago, my husband did – because helping innocent people is in his blood. His brother is a firefighter. His dad is a 30-year police veteran (and still serving!).
even if my husband’s good name is cleared, there is no way we could hope to pay the mountain of legal bills. Thankfully, by God’s grace, LELDF has stepped up to help us.
Jason Johnson and the LELDF board organize and fund the successful legal defense of good cops wrongly charged for crimes – like my husband. They hire the best attorneys and secure expert witnesses who will testify to the truth – without being influenced by political paybacks.
And we’re blessed they agreed to help Chance.
you’ve read my e-mail this far so I’m going to ask as boldly as I can:
Will you help Chance, too, by donating $35, $50, $100 or more to LELDF today?
Your generous tax-deductible gift to LELDF will help this amazing group keep defending my husband and the other good police officers who have been wrongly accused.
As you know, LELDF is a non-profit organization. They don’t take a single dime of government funding.
But they do rely on the generosity of kind-hearted folks like you to defend the men and women in blue who defend us.
So with that in mind, I pray you’ll make a special donation of $35, $50, $100, or more to LELDF today.
No matter the amount you can send, thank you for reading my e-mail with such a generous spirit. I can never express how grateful I am to you for supporting LELDF and helping my husband.
With hope and thanks,
Kimberly Bretches
P.S. My husband, Officer Chance Bretches, is a youth leader at our church and plays guitar in the worship band. He’s served on mission trips – building homes, planning Vacation Bible Schools, and sharing the Gospel.
He’s done his job as a police officer with honor and dignity, without a single mark against his record. In fact, that photo I included above was taken on the day my husband received the Lifesaving Medal with Valor for rescuing a driver from a car that caught on fire.
Chance put his life on the line again five years ago to take a violent offender, Paul Mannie, off the streets… and life behind bars could be his “reward.” And to make things worse, we’re up against the deep pockets of a George Soros backed prosecutor. So please, help LELDF continue fighting for my husband and our family by donating $35, $50, $100 or more today. Thank you in advance for your kind support!
