
Claim: St. Louis prosecutor Robert McCulloch runs a charity called Backstoppers that sold "I support
MIXTURE:
![]() | TRUE: St. Louis prosecutor Robert McCulloch was the president of Backstoppers, an organization aimed at supporting the families of first responders in crisis, during the controversy in Ferguson. |
![]() | FALSE: Backstoppers sold "I support Ofc. Darren Wilson" shirts to raise money for the policeman's defense fund. |
Example: [Collected via email, November 2014]
Is St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch Helping Raise
Money for Ofc. Darren Wilson?
Origins: On
McCulloch is the president of the board of Backstoppers, a local organization that supports the families of first responders (particularly those killed in the line of duty). A Washington Post opinion column published following the press conference on
Asked Monday night whether he had any regrets about the way he handled the case, McCulloch replied, "No, not at all." This shouldn't be a surprise, given McCulloch's history. That his father, a police officer, was killed by a black suspect doesn't by itself disqualify him, but his record should have: not a single prosecution of a shooting by police in his
The points made by the columnist were not unique; in fact they dovetailed with rumors that started in
Several blog posts from
"I SUPPORT OFFICER D. WILSON" is an officer inspired design to show support for officer Darren Wilson of the Ferguson Police Department in Missouri. Donations from purchases will be divided between a fund set up for Officer Wilson at gofundme.com as well as The BackStoppers Inc. organization which can be visited at backstoppers.org for more information.
A post on

The controversy made it to the St. Louis
The controversy abated but resurfaced on

In response, Backstoppers issued a statement via Facebook, reiterating the fundraiser was not connected with their organization:
Our mission is to provide assistance to families of police, fire and EMS officers who die in the line of duty. We are currently helping We greatly appreciate the support of the St. Louis community! Thank You!!
Contrary to recent posts on social media, The BackStoppers is not participating in or has benefited from any fund raising activity involving the Ferguson matter. We scrutinize our contributions and if we receive funds involving the Ferguson matter, those funds would be rejected by the Board of Directors.
Ultimately, only nineteen "I support Ofc. Darren Wilson" shirts were sold during the initial Teespring campaign. It isn't clear who created the fundraiser or how the proceeds were distributed; but any party is free to raise funds for any other party, and someone's pledging half their proceeds to Backstoppers does not indicate Backstoppers was necessarily involved with or even aware of the fundraising effort.
Last updated: 26 November 2014
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