President
dkriplean@azplea.com
At the time of this writing, we have had 22 officers involved in shootings, an increase from last year at this same time. Being a police officer in this country, your chances of becoming a criminal defendant while performing your official duties seem to be ever increasing. As a PLEA member, if you find yourself involved in an on-duty incident where a criminal investigation is being conducted and you are potentially a “suspect” in that case, you have access to the most qualified and experienced defense attorneys in the state through the PORAC Legal Defense Fund.
The Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC) was incorporated in 1953 as a professional federation of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. It is run by and for peace officers. PORAC represents over 80,000 public safety officers and over 950 associations throughout California. This makes it the largest statewide law enforcement association in the country.
You have access to the most qualified and experienced defense attorneys in the state through the PORAC Legal Defense Fund.
Founded in 1974, the PORAC Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s oldest, largest and most respected public safety legal plan, serving more than 143,000 members nationwide. PORAC LDF’s benefits have no coverage caps. Currently, the net assets for member benefits and legal defense are over $56 million. PORAC LDF offers members a single convenient phone number (888-556-5631) to call for 24/7 legal help in all 50 states and four U.S. territories, so no matter where they go, they have access to PORAC legal defense coverage.
PLEA has been a part of PORAC LDF for more than 30 years. PLEA currently has eight highly qualified LDF attorneys, each with decades of experience. Most have very successful criminal defense practices, while a few have served or are still serving as judges, either full time or pro tem. Not just anyone is able to be a PORAC LDF attorney. There is a rigorous process of vetting by both PLEA and the PORAC LDF Board.
Consider this for a moment: You have just been involved in an officer-involved shooting. You know your actions are justified, but until the county attorney gathers and examines all of the facts and determines that the shooting of another human being was justified, you are a suspect in a homicide. This is why we demand that only the best criminal defense attorneys represent our members in these incidents.
There have been a couple of high-profile cases where PORAC LDF attorneys have successfully defended local police officers. One was former Chandler Police Officer Dan Lovelace and the other was former Mesa Police Officer Mitch Brailsford. The cost for each of their defenses was close to or exceeded $1,000,000. Both had full trials where expert witnesses were called in to testify for the defense. Every dollar of that defense was covered by PORAC LDF and not the officer on trial.
Every year, I attend the PORAC LDF Conference. And every year, there are examples from around the country where officers doing their jobs fall victim to chiefs or prosecuting agencies that cave to political pressures. It is astonishing to hear details of these cases and realize that could be any one of us on any given day. One split-second decision can upend an officer’s life and that of their family for years, all to prove the split-second decisions they made were reasonable and justified under the circumstances. In every example, attorneys throughout the country sing the praises of PORAC LDF and talk about how they were allowed to hire the best expert witnesses money can buy and how PORAC has never balked at a request. In many of these cases, those witnesses were critically important to the officer’s acquittal.
Without question, PORAC LDF is second to none when it comes to legal defense coverage. We hope never to have to utilize their superior legal services, but we are sure thankful to have them should we ever need to.
PLEA’s current list of PORAC attorneys is as follows: Jess Lorona, Alan Kuffner, Bob Kavanaugh, Robert Jarvis, Ryan McPhie, Patrick Gann, Michael Napier and Kathryn Baillie. You would be hard-pressed to find a list of more accomplished attorneys whose sole responsibility is to represent our members. I would encourage you to do your research on each of them and compare their experience and resumes to any other attorney who purports to represent police officers.
If you have any questions about PORAC LDF or our attorneys, you can contact me here at the PLEA office or by email at dkriplean@azplea.com.