The post
NJ Detention Officer Suspended for Joking About Cannon Hinnant’s
Murder appeared first on National File. Visit
NationalFile.com for more hard-hitting investigative
journalism.
A New Jersey detention officer has been suspended for an alleged
Facebook post joking about a five-year-old boy who was allegedly
shot in the head at point blank range in cold blood by his
father’s neighbor.
Rome Smith, 49, has so far been temporarily relieved of his
duties as an officer at Cumberland County Juvenile Detention Center
for the now-deleted Facebook post on his now-deactivated account
following a backlash for his comments, reported
NJ.com.
“He should’ve ducked,” Smith, who is black, allegedly
wrote, according to a viral screenshot. “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.”
Officials confirming Smith’s suspension stated that the
officer’s comments were “shockingly insensitive and racist in
tone.”
“We will not tolerate County employees using social media to
broadcast hateful messages,” Cumberland County Freeholder
Director Joseph Derella said. “This is not who we are and we
intend to pursue the strongest action available to us.”
Cannon Hinnant’s murder has become a national news story at a
time when race relations have been soured over a series of highly
publicized interracial killings, sparking international protests
and riots.
The child was allegedly killed in broad daylight by his
father’s black neighbor, which has reopened a conversation on
underreported–and even suppressed–crime statistics. The
mainstream media, as a result, has been in the crosshairs over
their ostensible reluctance to cover the horrific crime.
Aside from Smith’s alleged comments, others have made
inflammatory comments over Hinnant’s murder. One person dubbed
the killing “revenge” while another
cackled at the idea of the child’s having his “white
privileged” brains blown out.
A group called
“Justice for Darius Sessoms” emerged on
Facebook–initially as a troll–but amassed over 20,000 members,
brimming with content downplaying Hinnant’s murder or shifting
the blame to the child’s family.
Memes and doctored
Wilson Police Department press releases also circulated social
media as pro-BLM supporters attempted to steer the narrative back
to so-called systemic racism.
The post
NJ Detention Officer Suspended for Joking About Cannon Hinnant’s
Murder appeared first on National File. Visit
NationalFile.com for more hard-hitting investigative
journalism.
