Now he’s facing 99 years in prison


<[link removed]>
Officer Chance Bretches and his family — Austin, Texas



Dear Friend,

My name is Kimberly Bretches. I'm a wife and a mother of four young children.
And I'm writing to you today because I am out of options and I am terrified.

I'll be honest, asking strangers for help doesn't come naturally to me. But
neither does the idea of my husband spending the rest of his life in prison for
doing his job — so here I am.

Chance is a police officer in Austin, Texas. He is, without question, the best
man I know. He has spent his career keeping dangerous people off the streets,
protecting a city that doesn't always make it easy to do so, and coming home
every night to a family that needs him. His supervisors have praised him for
his professionalism, for his instincts, for his dedication. He is exactly the
kind of officer you want showing up when things go wrong.


By every measure, Chance did everything right. He used department-approved
tools, following his training, to protect his fellow officers and the people of
Austin.

And in May of 2020, things went very wrong in Austin. For three consecutive
days, our city was under siege. Violent agitators hurled rocks, frozen water
bottles, and exploding fireworks directly at police officers. Buildings were
vandalized and looted. Police vehicles were set on fire. A rioter was caught
with a Molotov cocktail. Officers were injured. The city was teetering on the
edge of complete chaos, and everyone knew it.

On May 31st, the third day, when the mob was larger and more dangerous than it
had ever been, Chance was on the front lines. He did what he was trained to do.
He deployed non-lethal, department-approved beanbag projectiles to stop the
aggression and protect his fellow officers and the people of Austin. The crowd
eventually dispersed. The city held.

No one questioned what he did that night. His supervisors praised his
response. His department stood behind him.

And then Austin elected District Attorney José Garza.

Instead of holding the rioters accountable — the ones who threw the fireworks,
who lit the fires, who carried the Molotov cocktails — Garza turned his
attention to the officers who stopped them. He launched an indiscriminate
campaign against law enforcement, using the power of his office not to protect
the public, but to make political examples out of good cops.

Chance became one of his targets.



Chance now faces up to

99 Years

in prison — for following his training.


My husband now faces up to 99 years in prison. Not because he did anything
wrong. Not because his department found fault with his actions. Not because any
credible review of that night concluded he acted improperly. But because one
politically-motivated prosecutor decided the officers who held the line
deserved to be punished for holding it.

This case has been grinding through the system for years now. The trial has
already been delayed several times and isnow scheduled for June of this year.
Every continuance, every filing, every hearing means more hours of legal work,
and more bills our family has to find a way to pay.

I am asking for your help because we cannot do this alone.

The National Center for Police Defense has been in Chance's corner, and your
donation goes toward funding his legal defense, ensuring he has the
representation he deserves as he walks into that courtroom in June.


DONATE NOW TO SUPPORT CHANCE ›
<[link removed]>
$25 <[link removed]>
·$50 <[link removed]>
·$100 <[link removed]>
· or any amount you can give


If you believe that the men and women who run toward danger deserve better
than this,please give today
<[link removed]>.
Whatever you can. No amount is too small, and our family will not forget it.

Chance stood between Austin and chaos on May 31st, 2020. He didn't hesitate.
He didn't run. He did his job.

Now I'm asking you to stand with him.

With gratitude and hope,

Kimberly Bretches

Wife of Officer Chance Bretches, Austin Police Department



P.S. Chance's trial is this June. We are closer than we've ever been to
getting Chance in front of a jury that will hear the truth, but we need the
resources to get there. Please donate today and help us finish this fight.
<[link removed]>


National Center for Police Defense · Defenders for Justice







Unsubscribe
<[link removed]>