In a heart-wrenching video clip that has gone viral on social media, a 10-year-old boy, scared by the death of a George Floyd, hid immediately after he spotted a passing police car, in Connecticut. Eliah was playing basketball outside his house when he spotted the police car.
The video clip was posted by Eliah's father on his Instagram account, highlighting how the death of an African American man has bred fear among the younger generation.
Boy Hid From Police 'Because They Killed George Floyd'
In the 37-second clip shared by Stacey Pierre-Louis, Eliah is seen playing hoops alone outside his house. He then stays still upon seeing an approaching police car on a deserted road outside his house. Eliah is seen hiding behind a white colored jeep. As the police car moves away without stopping, the boy gets back to his game of basketball
According to CBS News, in his Instagram post, Stacey Pierre-Louis wrote that it took him days before he decided to share the video with the world.
He wrote: "Debated with myself for a few days before deciding to post this. I was at work watching my son shoot hoops in the driveway when I caught this. It floored me... I'll save the dramatics, but growing up black or brown most of the time means fearing the police vs looking up to them. I live in an affluent neighborhood in Trumbull with a really good school system. This kid has all the opportunity to do/be whatever he wants unlike many kids who look like him because resources aren't made available."
"Why does he feel like he has to hide when he isn't doing anything wrong? I asked him why he did that when he got home. He replied; "because they killed George Floyd". Stunned, I replied;ok kiddo. I didn't know what and still don't know what to say to him to make it better. A manager at my job told me to tell him that doing what he did is ridiculous and that I should teach him not to be fearful of police. Deep down I don't know if it's true, maybe staying out of the way is best."
"He didn't learn this behavior at home. We stream movies so he doesn't see the news and we don't talk negatively about police. No need to reply in the comments, but think to yourself.. What would you say?"
Social Media Reacts to the Video
Since it was uploaded on Instagram, the video has already crossed 83,700 views and received more than 1,700 comments. Sharing the video clip on Twitter, basketball legend and NBA superstar LeBron James wrote: "Breaks my Heart!!"
"This isn't my Instagram it's my sons but I happened to see the video and having a bi racial son who at that little boys aged loved playing out totally disturbed me," commented a user on Instagram.
"Choked me up. I understand his position and what he did. I also understand it could have gone sideways if they saw him in their rear view mirror," wrote another.
A few days after the incident, while speaking with CBS News, Pierre-Louis said Eliah was doing well and was optimistic that this could add to making a change for the better.
"Since I've shared this video, I've been overwhelmed with support which leads me to believe that there is far more good in this world than there is bad. So it is our hope that this video can be used as a tool to help continue to bring us together in this fight and inspire change for the better," he was quoted as saying.
