ThinkProgress: How One Woman Could Hit The Reset Button In The Case Against Darren Wilson

[branford]

59. I believe you are referring to "The "Backstoppers" organization.

It is my understanding that some claim that the non-profit organization where McCulloch serves on the board, The Backstoppers, was benefiting from a fundraiser for the legal defense of Officer Wilson. BackStoppers, raises funds for the children of first responders, including police officers, who die in the line of duty. The fundraiser consisted of selling t-shirts

The fundraising website indicated that it was set up by a third party and pledged to provide funds to both BackStoppers and Wilson’s legal defense. The site apparently reported 19 sales of Darren Wilson T-shirts before the campaign ended. However, Backstoppers itself apparently has not participated in nor benefited from any fundraising activity involving the Ferguson matter, including the sale of the t-shirts.

http://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_news/article_05fbf85e-3d02-11e4-bbb3-5b590397aedf.html

http://www.backstoppers.org/howwehelp.html

If the above information is accurate, which should be relatively easy to confirm, it does not present a conflict of interest. Neither McCulloch nor Backstoppers raised any money for Wilson or his defense. Moreover, belonging to a board that engages in charity for fallen first responders and their families certainly presents no conflict. In fact, such a relationship is more tenuous than the erroneous claims of a conflict because prosecutors routinely work with police.

If it could actually be proven that McCulloch, or an organization over which he has clear control, was directly raising funds for Wilson prior to and during the presentment to the grand jury, that would, in my opinion, be an actionable conflict of interest. However, that does not seem to be the case here other than innuendo, misinformation and conspiracy theories.