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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”

  2. Sorry Squeeky but your trolling of me speaks louder about you…

  3. Evidently, GoFundMe decide who you can and cannot fund.

  5. Darren
    GoFundMe would have some fried egg of their face if they denied a wife and her children support.
    = = =
    If only their husbands hadn’t been involved with Freddy’s death…

    Should all wives of accused killers start a GoFundMe then?
    I’m sure there are a lot of locked up fathers whose wives and children could profit from their incarceration for their father’s crime. No?

  6. GoFundMe policy
    https://www.gofundme.com/terms
    PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES
    You may not use the GoFundMe service for activities that:

    violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation

    relate to sales of (a) narcotics, steroids, certain controlled substances or other products that present a risk to consumer safety, (b) drug paraphernalia, (c) items that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity, (d) items that promote hate, violence, racial intolerance, or the financial exploitation of a crime, (e) items that are considered obscene, (f) items that infringe or violate any copyright, trademark, right of publicity or privacy or any other proprietary right under the laws of any jurisdiction, (g) certain sexually oriented materials or services, or (h) ammunition, firearms, or certain firearm parts or accessories, or (i) ,certain weapons or knives regulated under applicable law

    relate to transactions that (a) show the personal information of third parties in violation of applicable law, (b) support pyramid or ponzi schemes, matrix programs, other “get rich quick” schemes or certain multi-level marketing programs, (c) are associated with purchases of real property, annuities, investments, equity or lottery contracts, lay-away systems, off-shore banking or transactions to finance or refinance debts funded by a credit card, (d) are for the sale of certain items before the seller has control or possession of the item, (e) are by payment processors to collect payments on behalf of merchants, (f), are associated with the following Money Service Business activities: the sale of traveler’s checks or money orders, currency exchanges or check cashing,or (g) provide certain credit repair or debt settlement services

    involve the sales of products or services identified by government agencies to have a high likelihood of being fraudulent

    violate applicable laws or industry regulations regarding the sale of (a) tobacco products, or (b) prescription drugs and devices

    involve gambling, gaming and/or any other activity with an entry fee and a prize, including, but not limited to casino games, sports betting, horse or greyhound racing, lottery tickets, other ventures that facilitate gambling, games of skill (whether or not it is legally defined as a lottery) and sweepstakes unless the operator has obtained prior approval from GoFundMe and the operator and customers are located exclusively in jurisdictions where such activities are permitted by law.

    You may not accept payments on GoFundMe to purchase weapons, including replicas and collectible items, or ammunition.
    VIOLATIONS OF THE ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY
    We encourage you to report violations of this Acceptable Use Policy to GoFundMe immediately. If you have a question about whether a type of transaction may violate the Acceptable Use Policy, you can email GoFundMe’s Compliance Department at: http://www.gofundme.com/contact/

    In this document the following phrases are defined as:

    Service: This web site, GoFundMe.com.
    User: An individual or entity that registers an account for the service.
    Donor: An individual or entity that donates to a fund or posts a comment to a fund.

  8. zedalis
    Your retort made me lol out loud on the bus… Good one!

  10. Annie,

    These advanced self defense unarmed knife technique attack videos are disturbing.

  12. Well, here is the mugshot of the cop who drove the van, Caesar Goodson:

    https://heavyeditorial.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/1-copy.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=780&h=707

    You can view all of the Baltimore Six, here:

    http://heavy.com/news/2015/05/caesar-goodson-charged-charges-murder-garrett-miller-edward-nero-alicia-white-william-porter/

    Him being black will take a lot of wind out of the sales. (No, that wasn’t a misspelling—.

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

  13. Annie @ 4:23

    Agree. But that’s because I’m one of those ‘constitution-hating liberals’. The constitution-lovin’ right-wingers are going to disagree.

    Let’s let bam bam be their spokesman. She’s very good at finding disreputable sources.

  15. http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/is_it_legal_to_run_from_police.html

    “Fleeing from police is not, by itself, illegal in America, and the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that in safe neighborhoods, people not suspected of criminal activity can ignore a police officer who approaches them, even to the point of walking away.

    But courts have set a different standard for places where street crime is common, ruling that police can chase, stop and frisk people if their location contributes to a suspicion of criminal activity.

    This double standard is having a major impact as more black men die in encounters with police around the country. Many have been shot or tackled while trying to flee. The court rulings justifying police chases in high-crime areas where many African-Americans live are contributing to a dangerous divide between police and citizens, said Ezekiel Edwards, director of the Criminal Law Reform Project at the American Civil Liberties Union.”

  16. TJustice

    You will do your clients, should they ever exist, a great disservice if you argue that the rules of law are totalitarian. You are not being competent, as you claim, when you state that the rules pertaining to reasonable suspicion are totalitarian.

  18. A way around the GoFundMe’s rules on not allowing fundraising for those accused of serious crimes would be to set up a fund drive for the families of these officers for their benefit.

    GoFundMe would have some fried egg of their face if they denied a wife and her children support.

  19. The worst prosecutors are political animals looking to build a career on the backs of people who they treat unjustly.

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