Baltimore Police officers
Baltimore police officer's union sets up fundraising page which is taken down after 40 minutes Reuters

A fundraising page set up by Baltimore's police union to raise money for the six officers arrested in connection to Freddie Gray's death has been taken down 40 minutes after being launched.

GoFundMe.com said it has taken down the fundraising campaign because it violates the website's policies.

The Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police created the page on Friday in an effort to create a defence fund for their officers involved in the case, but it was swiftly removed because according to the company, "funds cannot be used for people accused of serious crimes".

The page had reportedly raised around $1,000 before it was deleted, the Daily Mail reported.

According to the Daily Mail, the description on the site read: "The Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #3 has been overwhelmed with the enormous generosity of people from around the world.

"We have received many requests to open an online account that will accept monetary donations for the 6 officers who have been wrongly charged in the death of Freddie Gray.

"All monies collected will be used to assist our officers with their living expenses during their unpaid suspension, as well as to help defray their legal expenses.

"We thank you, in advance, for your continued support."

Having discovered that the page had been taken down, the union tweeted: "Apparently our GoFundMe account has been suspended with no explanation. We are working to find a new site for donations. Thank you!"

This tweet has subsequently been removed, however the union did say that it was setting up a fundraising page on their website.

The Baltimore FOP had set a target to raise $600,000 for the officers' defence.

The organisation, which compared protesters to a "lynch mob" has been critical of Baltimore's chief prosecutor Marilyn J Mosby after she announced that the officers would be charged for a number of serious crimes including murder and manslaughter.

Michael Davey, a lawyer for the police union, called the charges an "egregious rush to judgment" and said Gray's death did "not occur as a result of any action or inaction" of the officers.

The fundraising page was quickly filled up with negative posts about the officers, the Daily Mail reported.

One remarked, "this is the same site that let the Darren Wilson fundraiser rock. Keep that in mind". And another quipped, "they haven't been fired. Their union will provide them with any legal representation. They make $60-70k a year, they don't need my $."

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