U.S. Rep. Eli Crane [R-District 2] made a request for support and GoFundMe donations for former Yavapai-Apache Police Department Sgt. Preston Brogdon on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on July 8.
Brogdon was shot by Valentin Rodriguez on the evening of Feb. 9, 2022, in Camp Verde while responding to a 911 call regarding shots fired in the Tunlii housing area. He was flown to a level-one trauma center in Phoenix in critical condition. Rodriguez was later found dead near Tunlii crossing on Feb. 26, 2022.
“The bullet blew apart my pelvis, my hip broke, my femur severed my small intestine,” Brogdon said in a video.
He was released from a Chandler rehabilitation facility two months later with an anticipated recovery time of one year. Brogdon intended to return to the department, but was unable to do so and was terminated by the Yavapai-Apache Nation in February 2024 for not being able to carry out his duties.
“Sergeant Brogdon isn’t being afforded the same compensation as others who have been permanently disabled in the line of duty, so we support his family’s efforts to gain assistance in this difficult time,” Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes wrote in a March 29 Instagram post in support of the Brogdon family fundraiser.
The Y-AN is not a part of the Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System that provides pension benefits for disabled and retired law enforcement officers.
Crane said that his office has not been working with the Y-AN on joining PSPRS, as the matter is outside his purview, and that he was not aware of any upcoming bills to support disabled law enforcement personnel.
“I try and help people any way I can. If we can’t help people through official channels, I try to help connect them personally with individuals that I think might help them in the private sector,” Crane said prior to a meeting of the Central Arizona Conservatives on Thursday, July 18. “That’s one of the ways we’ve been working with Preston Brogdon and his family. Some of the other things we’ve been doing is working with the tribe themselves to try and get some of the medical records that he needed, things like that.”
Brogdon’s wife Bailey Brogdon wrote on his GoFundMe account on June 5 that her husband had recently completed his final independent medical examination for workman’s compensation.
“It didn’t go as we had hoped and they are saying we need to wait another year before receiving a final rating or discussing any settlement. This is very frustrating as we don’t quite know a way forward,” Bailey Brogdon wrote. “My husband and I are truly grateful for all your support and we pray your generosity be returned 10-fold! We are learning our situation is not a unique one as many officers in our country are being mistreated. We have spent time working with certain entities to help find justice for not only ourselves but other officers who may find themselves cast aside.”
“We’re trying to help him through the federal government,” Crane said during the meeting. “We’re also using contacts within the private sector to try to get his family support. So one of the things we’ve already got for him … is a pretty expensive leg brace that he needed through a nonprofit.”
Crane said that a nonprofit called America’s Mighty Warriors has provided Brogdon with assistance “and there’s talks with some other groups as well,” Crane added.
Donations may be made to Preston Brogdon, P.O. Box 3831, Camp Verde, AZ 86322 or at gofundme.com. The fundraising effort has collected $31,743 raised of a $50,000 goal as of press time.
