Non-profit

Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF)

Website:

www.policedefense.org/

Location:

Alexandria, VA

Tax ID:

52-1095066

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2020):

Revenue: $2,783,208
Expenses: $2,749,319
Assets: $5,218,990

Type:

Legal Defense Group

Formation:

1994

President & CEO:

Jason C. Johnson

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Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF) funds the legal defense for law enforcement agents who are prosecuted or fired for actions taken while in the line of duty. The group also works to educate the public on the challenges faced by law enforcement officers and to improve public perception of the police.

Established in 1994, LELDF reported defending a record 16 cases in 2021. Its annual report for that year stated that following demonstrations in the wake of the 2020 death of George Floyd, nationwide officer engagement and police stops plunged sharply, accompanied by a rise in homicides. The report cited an increase in murders of 255% in Portland, Oregon, as well as increases of 55% and 58% in Baltimore and Chicago respectively. 1

Cases

Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund’s website featuring cases involving officers who were charged with police misconduct after they used force against a suspect. Typical examples include Eric DeValkenare, who shot a man who allegedly pointed a handgun at another officer, and the 2020 case of Officer Garret Rolfe, who shot and killed a man who allegedly fired a Taser at him. 2

Of note is the 1995 case of K-9 officer Stephanie Mohr, who ordered a police dog to “bite and hold” a man allegedly attempting to flee after a failed burglary. The suspect and his partner, both illegal immigrants, were charged and deported, and no complaint was filed against Officer Mohr. However, five years later United States Department of Justice decided to examine the case, and indicted her on civil rights violations one day before the statute of limitations expired. Mohr was tried twice, the first resulting in an 11-1 hung jury, and the second (in which Mohr was portrayed as a racist) in a conviction. In 2001, she was sentenced to, and served, 10 years in prison. LELDF later sought a presidential pardon, which she received from President Donald Trump in 2020. 3

Decision Points

Decision Points is an interactive police simulator created by Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund that places the user in police/criminal engagement scenarios. Relying on actual body-cam footage, the videos pause at critical moments in police interactions, asking the user to make a decision about the next best course of action. The simulator then rates the user’s response, explaining why their decision was correct or incorrect. The simulations are occasionally graphic, in one instance showing the lethal police shooting of a man who had stabbed his father and aggressively approached the officer while still holding a knife. 4

Justice for Sale Study

Drawing on reportage from the Los Angeles Times and other mainstream news outlets, Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund published a study accusing several large-scale dark-money and passthrough organizations of working together to place anti-police, “social justice” prosecutors in office throughout the United States. The report, entitled Justice for Sale, references the Times’ reporting, which in 2018 reported that billionaire George Soros had spent more than $19 million dollars funding candidates in prosecutor’s races prior through that year. 5

The report, in which Soros figures heavily, alleges a vast, interconnected group of organizations such as the left-of-center philanthropic collective Democracy Alliance, The Tides Center, Open Society, Alliance for Safety and Justice, NEO Philanthropy Fund, New Venture Fund and its sister organization Sixteen Thirty Fund, Justice and Public Safety PAC, and Civic Participation Action Fund. The report also alleges that these organizations send vast sums of campaign money to candidates directly or through secondary organizations, and are responsible for the election of at least 75 prosecutors across the United States. 6

Jason C. Johnson

Jason C. Johnson is president and frequent spokesman for LELDF.  A former law enforcement officer, Johnson was also the deputy commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department for two years from 2016-2018 after retiring from the Prince George’s County, Maryland police department. In January 2022, Johnson wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post highlighting the dismissal of Portsmouth police chief Angela Greene after she ordered the arrest of protestors for vandalizing several Confederate monuments. The same article cited the firing of William Kelly after he donated $25 to Kyle Rittenhouse’s defense fund, and pointed out that the city only learned of the donation after the donor website was hacked. 7

Johnson also opposed the gun control proposals of President Joe Biden as “a sad oversight borne [sic] purely of the politics of the moment.” As opposed to the Biden plan, which is focused on illegal gun trafficking, creating youth job programs, and funding ex-convicts as “violence interrupters” to mediate between police and criminals, Johnson instead called for longer prison terms for repeat offenders. 8

References

  1. [1] “2021 Annual Report.” LELDF. Accessed July 11, 2022. http://www.policedefense.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/LELDF-2021-Annualreport.pdf
  2. “Cases.” LELDF. Accessed July 11, 2022. https://www.policedefense.org/cases/
  3. “Stephanie Mohr.” LELDF. Accessed July 11, 2022. https://www.policedefense.org/2020-3-5stephanie-mohr-7yayk/
  4. ‘Decision Points.” LELDF. Accessed July 11, 2022.  https://www.policedefense.org/decisionpoints/
  5. St. John, Page, Vansickle, Abby. “Here’s Why George Soros, Liberal Groups, are Spending Big to Help Decide Who’s Your Next D.A.” Los Angeles Times. May 23, 2018. Accessed July 11, 2022.  https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-prosecutor-campaign-20180523-story.html
  6. “Justice for Sale.” LELDF. June 2022. Accessed July 11, 2022. http://www.policedefense.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Justice_For_Sale_LELDF_report.pdf
  7. Johnson, Jason C. “Virginia’s New Leaders Need to Keep Their Promises on Policing.” Washington Post. January 14, 2022. Accessed July 11, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/01/14/virginias-new-leaders-need-keep-their-promises-policing/
  8. Johnson, Jason C. “Biden Crime Plan Won’t Save Lives. Locking Up Criminals Will.” Washington Examiner. August 2, 2021. Accessed July 11, 2022.   https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/biden-crime-plan-wont-save-lives-locking-up-criminals-will
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: January 1, 1980

  • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2020 Dec Form 990 $2,783,208 $2,749,319 $5,218,990 $362,448 N $2,659,358 $0 $62,035 $327,297 PDF
    2019 Dec Form 990 $1,281,738 $1,882,062 $4,520,103 $151,371 N $1,060,729 $0 $96,980 $196,494 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $1,377,700 $1,447,043 $4,383,955 $80,647 N $1,136,658 $0 $87,876 $328,125 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $1,302,392 $1,632,586 $4,939,433 $71,390 N $1,094,082 $0 $112,300 $331,862 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $1,431,768 $1,816,242 $4,621,306 $50,228 N $1,324,305 $0 $103,769 $359,917
    2015 Dec Form 990 $1,526,574 $2,054,906 $4,817,241 $83,504 N $1,183,637 $0 $133,221 $352,622 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $1,543,804 $1,703,086 $5,983,119 $234,683 N $1,025,948 $38,649 $267,026 $327,571 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $2,531,664 $2,356,501 $6,442,220 $429,830 N $1,881,844 $55,658 $261,949 $338,106 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $2,572,732 $2,652,224 $5,916,491 $342,978 N $2,276,713 $0 $203,723 $322,925 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $2,392,555 $2,308,773 $5,521,746 $273,311 N $2,122,752 $0 $253,614 $326,377 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF)


    Alexandria, VA