Donation Pages for Officer Darren Wilson Suddenly Closed This Weekend

By Carla Murphy Sep 02, 2014

Donation pages raising more than $400,000 for Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson were suddenly shut down without explanation this weekend, the LA Times reports. Wilson is the officer who shot and killed unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown on the afternoon of August 9th. Neither owners of the two fundraising efforts with similar names have explained why both GoFundMe pages appear to have shut down around similar times on Saturday. They had inspired controversy some weeks ago for defending Wilson, drawing racist remarks and lack of accountability. The page "Support Officer Darren Wilson," which has so far raised more than $230,000 is run by an anonymous organizer.

"Support Officer Wilson," run by a St. Louis police charity, Shield of Hope, has so far brought in slightly less than $200,000. One of the organization’s three named officers is a Democrat and member of the Missouri House of Representatives Jeffrey Roorda. This January, Roorda sponsored a bill that would keep officers’ names secret if involved in a police shooting unless they were criminally charged. The bill "went nowhere," according to the LA Times.

A GoFundMe set up by lawyer Benjamin Crump for Michael Brown’s family has so far raised more than $300,000.