Michael is a police officer who dedicated his life to keeping our community safe in Farmers Branch, Texas.
But now he might be facing a life sentence in prison for shooting a dangerous career criminal who tried to run Michael down in a stolen truck.
Will you help my son?
That's Michael in the photo.
In addition to being a police officer, Michael is also a Master Gunnery Sergeant in the United Stated Marine Corps Reserve.
I knew when he joined the police department that it was a dangerous job.
Every night on the news I saw another story of a police officer ambushed or killed in the line of duty.
Itâs been a heart wrenching time for the families of police officers in recent years.
What I didnât expect was that so many Americans would turn their backs on Michael in his time of need.
I now realize that itâs all about fear. Fear of being attacked as a racist.
Fear of going against woke politicians and bureaucrats.
Fear of losing their jobs.
I assumed that the police department, the prosecutorâs office, and everyone else in the government and the community would have Michaelâs back.
But I was wrong.
So now Michaelâs life is at stake for simply doing his job and we have nobody to turn to except for good hearted strangers like you.
Will you please help me save my son Michael?
Let me give you some more of the details...
Michael and other Farmers Branch Police detectives tracked a stolen pickup truck to the parking lot of an "adult arcade."
The truck was stolen by a convicted felon who was well-known to the police.
Michael was assigned the task of arresting this man.
When the suspect came back to the truck, Michael pulled up and stepped out of his police car.
The criminal sped the stolen truck toward him.
Michael had to do what every police officer hopes they never have to do: he drew his weapon and fired.
The man driving the stolen truck died at the scene.
My son suffered back and leg injuries.
Michael had a split-second to think about if the career criminal speeding toward him was going to crush him to death with that stolen truck.
In that split-second, he did what he needed to do in order to save his own life and the lives of his fellow officers and community.
There's no doubt in my mind, and many others, that Michael made the right choice that day.
He should be considered a hero for putting his life on the line to protect others.
But right and wrong seem to have been turned upside down in the last few years.
Why else would they be trying to put my son in prison for murder for what he did?
That's why I'm willing to do whatever it takes to clear his name. Even if that means asking folks like you for financial support to help my son afford the best possible attorneys and legal advice.
After the incident, Michael was distraught to hear the criminal died.
But the other officers assured him the shooting was justified.
And then our whole world was rocked.
Just 8 days after the incident Michael was indicted.
Experts described the indictment as "unusually swift." The president of the Dallas Police Association said:
"We have never had an investigation completed in less than eight days ready to hand over to the District Attorney. Never."
I knew in my heart something was wrong – and we would be facing the fight of our lives to defend Michael in court.
We started a fundraising campaign on the internet site "GoFundMe" to raise money for a proper legal defense.
After a few days, "GoFundMe" shut down the fundraiser.
They claimed Michael's actions as a police officer were an "act of hate" - and helping him violated their terms of service.
So in this anti-police climate, politically woke climate, the case was closed in their minds.
No "innocent until proven guilty." No due process.
Instead, my son was smeared as a "murderer" who committed a "hate crime."
Since then, my husband and I spent half our life savings on legal fees and bills to help Michael.
With the investigation devastating my family... seeing Michael, an American hero, being smeared on the internet... and our family quickly running out of money to pay mounting court fees... hope was fading.
Until we heard about the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF). LELDF is the best friend a police officer could ever have.
LELDF defends good officers, like my son, who have been unfairly prosecuted for split-second, use-of-force decisions in the line of duty.
The group's president, Jason Johnson, served over 20 years as a police officer, including as Deputy Commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department.
And praise the Lord, LELDF saw it fit to help my son!
Will you please consider sending a tax-deductible contribution to the LELDF so they can help my son beat his charges?
You see, LELDF is a non-profit organization. It doesn't receive any funds from the government to help our police officers.
Or, if the Lord has blessed you with the means to help with a gift of $250, $500, or even $1,000 or more, I pray you will consider doing so.
Please know any gift amount you can send today is truly a blessing.
If you can't help financially today, I understand. And please keep Michael and our family in your prayers.
My son Michael is an American hero who served our nation and his community. He shouldn't be locked behind bars for defending his life from a career criminal.
That's a picture of Michael with his daughter - my granddaughter - Mary-Kaitlyn
That's a picture of Michael with his Son - my grandson – William
I pray you never go through something like this. But if you do, may God touch the hearts of kind people to help you - just as I'm praying He'll touch your heart to help my son today.
Sincerely,
Margaret Mary Dunn
PS: LELDF relies on caring people like you to send donations so they can fight tooth and nail to help wrongly-accused police officers like Michael. And because LELDF is a non-profit, all donations are tax-deductible. Your kind donation today of $35, $50, or $100 to help Michael will mean so much to my family.
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More such officers who sacrifice so much for will face similar fates unless we speak out and stand up for the brave men and women in blue. The next time you see a police officer in your community, please thank them for their service. To read more about our mission or the other Law Enforcement officers weâre defending, please visit www.leldf.org. And remember - Blue Lives Matter!