GoFundMe has removed all fundraisers supporting an Ohio father accused of killing a sheriff’s deputy after more than 20,000 members of the state’s law enforcement community complained.
Jay McDonald, President of the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, sent a letter to GoFundMe on Tuesday afternoon, calling the fundraisers “absolutely outrageous” and accusing Rodney Hinton Jr of “the assassination of a law enforcement officer,” WCPO reports.
Hinton Jr allegedly ran over and killed a Hamilton County sheriff’s deputy near the University of Cincinnati a day after his teenage son was shot and killed by a Cincinnati police officer.
The younger Hinton had allegedly stolen a car and was shot and killed while he and three others tried to evade police. The Cincinnati Police Department is claiming that the teenage Hinton was armed at the time he was shot.
In police body-camera footage obtained by NBC News, an officer is seen exiting his vehicle and aiming a firearm at the teenager as he runs away. The officer fired at least four shots, the police chief said, and Hinton fell to the ground.
The footage does not clearly show whether the 18-year-old brandished his gun toward police.
Authorities believe Hinton was struck by two bullets in the chest and arm. After firing the rounds, an officer can be heard instructing the teen to “Get the f*** down.”
Hinton’s father, Hinton Jr, reportedly saw the body cam footage of an officer shooting and killing his son, in the hours before he allegedly ran over and killed a sheriff’s deputy.
The deputy that Hinton Jr allegedly hit and killed, Deputy Larry Henderson, was reportedly retired and was directing traffic when he was hit.
After the incident, fundraisers started popping up on GoFundMe to support Hinton Jr, presumably for his legal defense and for losing his son.
According to the letter from McDonald, the most active of the fundraisers had brought in more than $5,000 for Hinton Jr.
“To allow fundraisers for a cop killer is just over the line,” McDonald insisted.
GoFundMe responded to the letter hours later. The fundraising site’s director of policy and engagement wrote back apologizing for the fundraisers for the loss of the deputy, according to Cincinnati FOP President Ken Kober, who spoke to WCPO.
“I was more than appreciative to see not only did they take it down, but they said, ‘Listen, we’re sorry what happened to this deputy,’ and they gave their condolences,” Kober said.
The GoFundMe official said that the site’s policies prohibit the use of its platform for fundraisers aimed at helping individuals accused of violent crimes.
“I can assure you that there will be zero tolerance for this kind of behavior on our platform,” GoFundMe’s director of policy and engagement said in her statement. “Once again, Deputy Henderson and his family are in our thoughts and prayers.”
The platform also had to remove similar support fundraisers for Luigi Mangione, who is accused of shooting and killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson late last year.
Hinton Jr has been charged with aggravated murder, according to WLWT.
