The heartbreaking moment a ten-year-old black boy hid from a passing police car has been caught on CCTV.
The footage showed 10-year-old Eliah playing basketball outside his home in Trumbull, Connecticut, however, when a police car passes by, he immediately hides.
The footage was subsequently shared online last Friday by Eliah’s father Stacey Pierre-Louis, who said it "floored" him.
Watch the heartbreaking moment Eliah hides from the police below:Stacey captioned the video on Instagram: "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?"
When the child was asked why he hid from the police car, he said: "Because they killed George Floyd". According to Stacey, she didn't know what to say in response to Eliah to "make it better".
He continued: "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."
The video subsequently went viral on social media, and celebrities even commented on its content with LeBron James sharing it on Twitter, and saying it "breaks his heart".
Stacey now hopes that as a result of the video going viral, it will help change the world for the better, per CBS News.
He told the news outlet: "My priority as a parent and family man is to protect my son and children from the atrocities and injustices of the world and provide them with the tools to be whole, productive and fearless contributing members of the world.
"Unfortunately, in the state of times and for reasons we all see daily, it makes it difficult. But as many parents are doing, I can only continue to educate and prepare my son with the truth and arm him with the tools to continue to create change."
This comes as unrest continues to unfold across the US, as protests - some peaceful, some violent - are calling out the systemic injustices carried out against people of color, not least seen by the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.
As well as a call for justice, these ongoing protests are also demanding an end to police brutality and the racism that is so deeply entrenched in America and the western world.
The message is simple: Black lives matter.
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