Cannon Hinnant was a "beautiful little kid". Photo / AP
Cannon Hinnant was a "beautiful little kid". Photo / AP
A US prison officer has been suspended from his job over a Facebook post in which he allegedly claimed a 5-year-old boy who was fatally shot "should've ducked".
Cannon Hinnant was gunned down in front of his sisters, aged 7 and 8, while playing outside their family home in North Carolina on August 9.
His tragic death has been seized on by detractors of the Black Lives Matter movement who claim Cannon's killing would have been treated differently if he was black.
Cannon's neighbour Darius Sessoms, who is black, has been arrested over the killing and Sessoms' parents have claimed their son had been suffering with drug and mental health issues.
In the wake of the ugly debate sparked by Cannon's death, a prison officer at the Cumberland County Juvenile Detention Centre in New Jersey, was suspended from his job on Wednesday.
The prison officer, Rome Smith, allegedly wrote on Facebook about Cannon's death blaming the boy's parents, which was screenshot and widely circulated.
The Facebook allegedly comment left by Rome Smith that led to his suspension from his job. Photo / Facebook
"He should've ducked," Smith allegedly wrote. "Y'all always trying to sneak diss and discredit a black person being killed innocently by police. Blame cannon's parents for not watching him!!! F Y'ALL."
Smith's post sparked outrage and claims he was "obviously racist against caucasians", the New York Post reported.
Cannon's death began trending on social media earlier this month after several conservative commenters claimed his death had been overlooked because he was white and Sessoms was black.
Say his name. 5 year old Cannon Hinnant was executed in cold blood while riding his bike. The accused killer is Darius Sessoms. He allegedly walked up to the boy and shot him dead in front of his sisters. Reverse the races and this is the only thing anyone talks about for a month pic.twitter.com/5V72YhAOlI
However detractors pointed out that Cannon's death has been reported by most US American media outlets, slamming those who have "hijacked" his slaying for political purposes:
I've seen conservatives ask "where are the protests" for Cannon Hinnant:
1. The killer wasn't a civil servant 2. The killer was caught 3. The killer will be jailed for life 4. This was a swift & appropriate response by the criminal justice system
I am not afraid to talk about this. It is sad that this issue has been kinda hijacked for political reasoning. Cannon Hinnant was 5 years old. He was murdered. He hadn't even lived his life! There doesn't need to be a comparison.
Pretty sad seeing Cannon Hinnant's murder politicized. When Right-Wingers get a chance to say "See Black men ARE bad!", they pounce. What happened was disgusting & his murderer deserves to rot in hell; doesn't take away from minorities being targeted by police or systemic racism.
