Within days of Rodney Hinton Jr.'s arrest for hitting and killing a Hamilton County sheriff's deputy, more than a dozen fundraisers popped up on GoFundMe supporting him. As of Tuesday evening, they no longer exist.
The online fundraising platform removed the campaigns at the demand of 23,000 Ohio law enforcement personnel.
Jay McDonald, President of the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, voiced their collective outrage in a letter penned to GoFundMe Tuesday afternoon.
"This is absolutely outrageous, to fundraise off the assassination of a law enforcement officer," McDonald said in part.
WATCH: How local officials responded to GoFundMe fundraisers for the man accused of killing a deputy
In the letter, McDonald said the most active of the fundraisers for Hinton had raised more than $5,000. McDonald went on to claim GoFundMe has removed or made it difficult in the past for funds to be raised for cops killed in the line of duty.
"To allow fundraisers for a cop killer is just over the line," McDonald said.
Hinton is accused of intentionally running down Deputy Larry Henderson on May 2 after watching body-worn camera footage of his 18-year-old son's death at the hands of a Cincinnati police officer. Ryan Hinton was shot and killed a day earlier.
Hours after McDonald sent the letter, the online platform's director of policy and engagement wrote back apologizing for the fundraisers and any "attempted misuse of the GoFundMe platform."
She expressed condolences on behalf of the entire GoFundMe team to the Ohio law enforcement community for its loss.
In her own letter, the representative explained GoFundMe's policy prohibits people from raising money for individuals charged with violent crimes.
"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," Cincinnati FOP President Ken Kober said.
Kober also received a letter of apology from GoFundMe. McDonald initially reached out to him, telling him law enforcement wasn't going to stand for the fundraisers, before writing to GoFundMe, Kober said.
"It's happened in other parts of the country, and you know, I get it. GoFundMe has millions and millions of different fundraisers at the same time," Kober said. "It violates their policy. That's why we contacted them and they immediately responded back to us."
GoFundMe recently made a similar move when the platform removed fundraisers supporting Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
In line with the company's Terms of Use, any fundraisers created for the legal defense of someone charged with a violent crime are removed, and any money raised for the campaigns is fully refunded to the person who donated. The same policy applies to fundraisers created for Hinton.
"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."
We reached out to GoFundMe about the fundraisers supporting Hinton. The platform declined and interview but did provide a statement.
“GoFundMe’s Terms of Service prohibit fundraisers for the legal defense of violent crimes. Consistent with this long-standing policy, any fundraisers for the legal defense of someone charged with a violent crime are removed from the platform and fully refunded.”
Fundraisers for Ryan's mother and siblings remain on GoFundMe's site. Those pages do fit the site's Terms of Use.
Henderson will be laid to rest on Friday following a public service. Cincinnati FOP is working on a memorial for Henderson to be unveiled sometime next week.
At a court hearing Tuesday morning, a Hamilton County judge ordered Hinton to be held without bond.
"There's a lot of tension. We hope that cooler heads are going to prevail ... we're all grieving. Their families, you know that feel terrible for things that have happened, for the Henderson family, for the officers involved in the shooting (of Ryan Hinton). They're trying to process grief, because this isn't something that they wake up and were hoping to happen that day. It's terrible. Nobody wants to go through these things," Kober said. "Everybody's processing different amounts of grief. We just encourage people to do it in a healthy way and to just be peaceful while you're doing it."
