National Police Defense Foundation Takes Local Mission Global

For the last 18 years, the National Police Defense Foundation has operated with the mission of helping law enforcement officers, their families, and children around the world.

It began with Joe Occhipinti and his wife Angela. Occhipinti, a retired federal agent who spent time undercover infiltrating a major drug cartel, had a goal to continue his work with law enforcement through police associations.

“When I retired, I saw a need to continue to help law enforcement and children,” Occhipinti said.

Eighteen years later, Occhipinti operates internationally with volunteers around the country, running everything from one office in Marlboro Township. And the goal expands every year.

“Our mission was to protect and support law enforcement,” Occipinti said. “They become the target of many fabricated allegations by criminals. We have also exposed many police injustices.”

The defense’s mission began to aid law enforcement with legal and medical bills. The foundation posts a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and prosecution of a suspect in any case an officer is hurt on duty. In New Jersey, that reward led to conviction in the case of slain female police officer Joyce Carnegie.

“We also arrange for medical treatment for severely handicapped police,” Occhipinti said, pointing to a recent case of two female officers who lost their legs.

But the Occhipinti’s began to see beyond their brothers in blue. The foundation created the first at home children’s fingerprinting kit, which is mailed for free to any parent who requests it. The kit allows parents to fingerprint their child in the comfort of the home, save a hair sample, and keep it to turn over to police in the case of disappearance.

And while handing out kits at a law enforcement conference in 1999, Occhipinti met an Ecuadorian grandmother distraught that she couldn’t bring her sick grandchild to America for medical treatment.

“I couldn’t do nothing. We made the arrangements for emergency visas, I flew out to Ecuador and brought Baby Emily to America for her operation.”

And with Baby Emily, Operation Kids was born. Since 1999, Occhipinti and his growing organization has flown around the world to bring children to America for lifesaving operations.

“This is very dear to me,” he said. “Our ability to do this is a direct result of our membership.”

The National Police Defense Foundation has over 190,000 volunteer members. In the modest Marlboro Township office, there are two paid employees.

“We don’t have the time, the resources or the capability to plan fundraising efforts. We’re cops.”

In June, the Tampa Bay Times and the Center for Investigative Reporting named the NPDF one of the “worst charities in America,” based on its marketing and fundraising expenses versus its program services expenses.

But Occhipinti says he’s done the math over and over. Hiring an outside marketing and fundraising firm would cost less for the NPDF than postage, manpower, extra office space, stationary and everything else that comes with the job.

“We have to outlay the money with the risk it won’t work if we do it ourselves,” Occhipinti said. “With this company, we don’t outlay the money or time and we get 15 to 25 percent on the dollar. If we did it ourselves, we may not get anything.”

As a direct result of the investigative piece, Occhipinti has decided to cut his ties with the marketing firm and begin to fundraise himself. He said he’ll have to look into grants and grant writers to make up the monetary difference. Occhipinti also said he’ll have to let his employees go.

“Their news report didn’t go after the larger foundations. What are those foundations spending on administrative costs?”

Occhipinti said the organization will have to choose more carefully which cases they take on, but he doesn’t plan to stop completely. Currently, he’s working on getting an emergency vise to bring a blind baby from Santo Domingo to America for an operation that could restore sight.

“I’m very proud of what we’ve done. I never expected in 18 years we would have grown as large as we have.”