GoFundMe For Freddie Gray Officers Removed After 41 Minutes

[Jesus Malverde]

The Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police created a GoFundMe page for the six officers who were charged Friday in the death of Freddie Gray—but it lasted for less than an hour before being removed from the site.

The Fraternal Order of Police, a union representing Baltimore City police officers, set a fundraising goal of $600,000 to pay for the living expenses of the six officers, who were placed on unpaid suspension after they were charged in Gray’s death. In 41 minutes, the page raised $1,135.

It’s unclear whether GoFundMe deleted the fundraiser set up for the six officers, but the FOP posted on its Facebook page, “Apparently our GoFundMe account has been suspended with no explanation. We are working to find a new site for donations. Thank you!”

Vocativ previously revealed that GoFundMe has an interesting criteria for what types of causes it allows to raise money on its site. “‘Campaigns in defense of formal charges of heinous crimes’” are prohibited by our terms,” a spokeswoman said for that article. Asked to comment on the removal of this campaign, a spokeswoman told Vocativ, “GoFundMe cannot be used to benefit those who are charged with serious violations of the law.”

http://www.vocativ.com/news/189320/freddie-gray-gofundme-removed-baltimore-police-officers/

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. The sad thing we are learning about GoFundMe campaigns...

Is the politically driven, hate-fueled ones become an easy way to profit off the hate and fuel of others. It's sick, and I'm glad GFM is stomping down on it.

I see so many accounts for parents trying to bury a baby, people trying to pay a traffic fine, medical treatments, etc. with just pennies in them...

[frogmarch]

2. I don't know a lot about GoFundMe, but

shouldn't there be a way for GoFundMe to review submissions before allowing them to be posted?

[ScreamingMeemie]

4. I think they run a lot like Facebook/Youtube/Social Media...

They wait for the complaints to come roaring in, and then they deal with it. I could be wrong. Why pay someone to monitor when citizens monitor at no cost?

[Gothmog]

3. Gofundme got burned on the Indiana pizza case and does not want to be use for partisan issues

[PoliticAverse]

5. GoFundMe doesn't allow campaigns "in defense of formal charges or claims of heinous crimes;"

See: http://www.gofundme.com/terms

[still_one]

6. I have no problem if their friends and family want to set something up, but I do

Do have an issue with the FOP doing it. They represent all police officers, and their union by doing this and other comments the FOP has made regarding the officers "innocence" is out of line and inappropriate in my view

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. I agree. n/t

[libdem4life]

7. $1,136 divided by 6 = almost $200 each. And to get it shut down seems like a political statement.

[tblue37]

8. KnR. nt

[Ms. Toad]

9. As I noted with the last similar account that shut down

There are a number of people sitting in jail, and on death row, who are innocent - but didn't have the money to retain competent counsel, or do the private detective work to prove it at the time of their trial. Not to mention that the prosecutor's office is much more heavily funded than the public defender's office (or than appointed counsel are paid)

I'm not particularly sad about this particular account vanishing, since these folks have access to union representation, and aren't living in poverty.

But - I do think the policy of prohibiting the use of gofundme accounts to raise money for defense funds takes one more tool away from those who are already short of tools to ensure that justice can actually be obtained.

[99th_Monkey]

11. If they find a racist website that's piggish enough to raise money for killers

I trust that Anonymous just might the whole site down.