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GoFundMe Site For Six Charged Baltimore Officers Taken Down After 41 Minutes

816fd620-f069-11e4-a4a8-49179b3b0ba2_Baltimore-copsLike many, I am still waiting for the evidence used as the basis to charge the six officers in Baltimore for the death of Freddie Gray. This morning, however, I was disturbed to read that an effort to create a fundraising site for the defense of the officers was taken down on GoFundMe. It appears that the site has a very questionable standard for funding that does not afford accused parties a presumption of innocence in asking for support to fund their defense.

The Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police created a GoFundMe page for the six officers after they were charged Friday. However, less than an hour later, it was taken down.

After 41 minutes, it has only raised $1,135 — considerably short of the $600,000 goal.

There is no confirmation on who is responsible. However, the site states the following : “‘Campaigns in defense of formal charges of heinous crimes’ are prohibited by our terms . . . GoFundMe cannot be used to benefit those who are charged with serious violations of the law.” Really? Why? I was under the impression that people were given a presumption of innocence in this country. Why shouldn’t this site be used to help guarantee a fair trial for anyone facing prosecution? Moreover, how do you define a serious violation? Clearly, this case would qualify but where is the line drawn?

This is a site that is designed to help people organize in making donations to support different causes. Giving such charity is a positive act, including giving money to guarantee a fully funded defense. Our criminal justice system is a foundational part of our society. It reflects our commitment to the rule of law. Central to that institution is the presumption of innocence. I find this policy of GoFundMe to be inexplicable and distasteful. Many people want to support the criminal justice system as much as environmental or other causes. The policy makes, in my view, an arbitrary and biased decision in barring those who are accused of serious offenses by the government. It should equally presumably bar those who are viewed as victims of government abuse like journalists or whistleblowers.

I also was a bit concerned to read Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby comments telling protesters: “I heard your calls for, ‘No Justice, No peace.’ Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man.” I generally think it is a bad idea for prosecutors to directly respond to public protests demanding criminal charges. Such protests should not have an influence on the decision to prosecute and it is always a concern, as with Mike Nifong in the Duke case, where prosecutors are seen as too responsive to public demands for criminal charges. This is not meant to suggest that a criminal case cannot be made but these press conferences can undermine the integrity of a prosecution if the chief prosecutor is viewed as too influenced by external events or demands.

346 thoughts on “GoFundMe Site For Six Charged Baltimore Officers Taken Down After 41 Minutes”

  1. Police ignored an unresponsive Freddie Gray on wagon’s floor: prosecutor
    http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/02/police-freddie-gray-unresponsive-medical-marilyn-mosby

    Gray was not seatbelted in the vehicle as is required by Baltimore police rules. Several prisoners in the past have been seriously injured by so-called “rough rides”.

    The first stop made by Officer Caesar Goodson, the van’s driver, was four minutes later at Mount and Baker streets. Gray had his legs shackled while the arresting officers completed paperwork. He was then reloaded into the van by Rice, Miller and Nero “on his stomach, headfirst on to the floor”, again without being seatbelted, said Mosby.

    About 10 minutes after this, Goodson’s van made a second stop outside a grocery shop at Fremont Avenue and Mosher Street, whose CCTV cameras captured footage of the vehicle. The existence of this stop was not disclosed by police until Thursday 30 April.

    After getting out and checking on Gray, Goodson returned to the driver’s seat and resumed his journey, according to the prosecutor. Gray’s health and responsiveness at this point is not clear, apparently because Goodson has declined to cooperate with investigators.

    Goodson radioed for support from other officers to “check on the status of his prisoner”, said Mosby. He then made a third stop at Druid Hill Avenue and Dolphin Street at 8.59am. He and Officer William Porter inspected Gray. Mosby said Porter asked the 25-year-old if he needed medical care, and Gray “indicated at least twice he was in need of a medic”.

    Yet Goodson and Porter still did not request medical care, the state’s attorney said. Despite moving Gray from the floor of the van to the bench, Porter once again failed to restrain Gray with a seatbelt. And despite Gray’s obvious distress, Goodson chose – “in a grossly negligent manner,” said Mosby – to respond to a separate arrest nearby.

    The van made a fourth stop to collect the second prisoner, Donta Allen…
    …

    At the second arrest site, Goodson and Porter again inspected Gray, this time with Sergeant Alicia White. They “observed Mr Gray unresponsive on the floor of the wagon”, yet did not act. White “spoke to the back of Mr Gray’s head” and when he did not respond “she did nothing further despite the fact that she was advised that he needed a medic,” said Mosby.

    “She made no effort to look or assess or determine his condition,” said Mosby. Gray, laid out on the floor of the wagon and not answering, was ignored.

    “Despite Mr Gray’s seriously deteriorating medical condition, no medical assistance was rendered or summoned for Mr Gray at that time by any officer,” said Mosby. He was once again not restrained with a seatbelt in the back of the van as Goodson made the last leg of his journey to the police department’s western district headquarters.

    When the van finally arrived at the police station at 9.24am, White and officer Zachary Novak attempted to remove Gray only to find he was “no longer breathing at all”, Mosby said on Friday. Medics were finally called – more than 40 minutes after Gray first complained of problems.

    … GoFundNegligence.

  2. @NickS

    You are right! That is why I am calling the prosecution RAAAACIIIIIIISSTTS!!! Because poor old Caesar Goodson is black, and here they are hanging a murder rap on him!!!

    (Hey, we know from the leftists around here, that it doesn’t actually have to be racist, to be called racist. If you just scream it loud enough, and often enough, you get to be on moral high ground! Sooo, I figure it’s our turn!)

    Raaaaciiiists!!! Discriminators!!! Picking on poor Black cops!!!

    OH! I am already starting to get that smug feeling!

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

  3. Oh and rcocean, stop using logic, common sense and reason instead of raw emotion.

  4. RC, Remember the Trayvon case, the defendant was OBVIOUSLY overcharged w/ 2nd degree homicide. That prosecutor was rogue and ambitious. Just sayn’!

  5. Last post. I’ve read the “rough ride” articles. However, none of them give details as to what a “Rough ride” actually was accomplished. Speeding and then slamming on brakes? Running over pot holes? What exactly was entailed? Nor do they tell us how many rough rides were given over the years or who exactly ordered the “Rough rides”. And I could see the Defense using this. If Baltimore PD gave rough rides to 1000 prisoners and only 3 died, how can the driver be guilty of murder? Using that standard you could charge some football players with 2nd degree murder.

  6. And given that we don’t even know PRECISELY how Gray was injured, how can the driver be guilty of 2nd degree murder. Gray was given medical treatment at the end of the Van ride and lived for a week. What medical training did the Driver have? Was it obvious that Gray had a life threatening condition TO THE DRIVER? The prosecutor seems to be assuming as opposed to proving 2nd degree murder.

  7. “The scarcity of any confirmed facts, and I do mean ANY CONFIRMED FACTS, relating to this entire saga, is troubling.”

    Agree 100 percent. I noticed 4 of 6 were charged with involuntary manslaughter. If Gray was OK before he went into the van, and failing to buckle Gray in the van was the cause of his death, how can 4 of 6 be guilty? How many of the 6 WERE IN THE VAN? And how many were responsible for stopping the Van or getting Gray medical help. I’m really confused on this one.

  8. @Cnidaria

    Sounds better than then one I am on, called The Man Who Would Be Queen, by J. Bailey. It’s about transgenders, and some of the stuff that makes them tick. Instead of tock.

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

  9. I just picked up a wonderful book called”who is the devil?…by nicolas corte…absolutely spellbinding, and a bit chilling…deals with the fall of lucifer and his legion of lesser demons who transgressed and points out how the devil is not only perverted and perverting, but seeks man’s ruination, not in the abstract, but through actual, tangible activity, that leads on’es soul to hades…he never stops, and his work is never done…a wonderful catholic book, that is sobering and a bit terrifying…

  11. Private businesses are free to do what they wish.

    Plus, the Mosby explained the timeline of what happened, which was mostly based on the statements of the officers themselves. Did you miss that? Because it was pretty damning and GoFundMe did the right thing by taking it down.

  12. Squeeky,
    Three of the six officers are black. In fact, one is female, too.

  14. I just wrote this!

    Well, Caesar Goodson, the cop who drove the van is black, sooo I think the whole prosecution is raaaaaciiiissst!

    http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/150501194954-01-baltimore-officers-charged-caesar-goodson-medium-plus-169.jpg

    Sooo, I am going to do an Irish Poem for him!

    Illegal Caesar???
    An Irish Poem by Squeeky Fromm

    There once was a copper named Caesar,
    And that Mosby! Oh nothing would please her,
    But to charge him, real quick!
    Lay it on good and thick,
    And she always could repent in leisure!

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

  16. Well, it appears these six officers will get an opportunity to face what they deprived Freddie of…
    … A corrupt justice system designed to feed humans to “for profit” prison systems.

  17. Guilty, unless proven innocent… the lib mantra for those they disdain

  18. Annie,
    Max, here’s another disturbing article on Lt. Rice.
    *********************************
    Yep, that too…

  19. The officers were charged as follows:

    – Lt. Brian Rice, 41, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 1997, the supervisor on April 12: Charged with involuntary manslaughter, two second-degree assault charges, two misconduct in office charges and false imprisonment. If convicted, he could face a sentence of as much as 30 years in prison. Bail was set at $350,000

    – Sgt. Alicia White, 30, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 2010: Charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault and misconduct in office. If convicted, she could face a sentence of as much as 20 years in prison. Bail was set at $350,000

    – Police Officer William Porter, 25, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 2012: Charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault and misconduct in office. If convicted, he could face a sentence of as much as 20 years in prison. Bail was set at $350,000

    – Police Officer Garrett Miller, 26, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 2012: Charged with second-degree assault intentional, second-degree assault negligent, two misconduct in office charges and false imprisonment. If convicted, he could face a sentence of as much as 20 years in prison. Bail was set at $250,000

    – Police Officer Edward Nero, 29, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 2012: Charged with false imprisonment and second-degree assault intentional, second-degree assault negligent, two misconduct in office charges and false imprisonment. If convicted, he could face a sentence of as much as 20 years in prison. Bail was set at $250,000

    – Police Officer Caesar Goodson, 45, has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department since 1999, the driver of the prisoner transport van: Charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder; involuntary manslaughter; second-degree negligent assault; manslaughter by vehicle by means of gross negligence; manslaughter by vehicle by means of criminal negligence; misconduct in office for failure to secure a prisoner, failure to render aid. If convicted, he could face a sentence of as much as 63 years in prison. Bail was set at $350,000

  20. Squeeky,
    That makes three good posts that I’ve made this week, according to you.
    So, I’ll accept the compliments. Thank you. 🙂

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