On the night of January 12th, 2014, the Johnson Family’s lives were changed forever. On this night, Jennifer and her daughter, Shelby, were awakened by a knock on the door—the knock every police officer’s family hopes they never hear. Officers were on the other side of that door to notify them that Deputy Bubba Johnson had been killed in a single car crash during his shift that night with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

Even as family and friends supported the Johnson Family through the feelings of grief and sadness that inevitably followed, one thought wouldn’t escape the minds of Jennifer and Shelby—how future families losing their loved one in the Line of Duty would manage to keep their lights on and stomachs fed in the interim time before State and Federal benefits kick in. Because of that constant thought resting at the back of their minds, Jennifer and Shelby founded the Deputy Bubba Johnson Foundation in 2019.

The Deputy Bubba Johnson Foundation (DBJF) seeks to keep Bubba’s memory alive by assisting the surviving family members of Tennessee Law Enforcement Officers killed or seriously injured in the Line of Duty through both monetary and peer support. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, we achieve this through community fundraising events such as the annual Deputy Bubba Johnson Memorial Road Race and through donations from our local community and YOU.