Man seen kneeling on 2-year-old’s neck facing criminal charges, Ohio cops say

A man is facing charges after a photo posted on Facebook showed him kneeling on the neck of a 2-year-old boy, according to Ohio police.

The child was uninjured, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, but the grandmother of the boy wants justice.

The photo shows a Black man, identified by the Sheriff’s Office as 20-year-old Isaiah Jackson, with one knee on the neck of the boy, who is white. The photo appears to resemble the technique used by now-fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in a May 25 incident that resulted in the death of George Floyd, a Black man.

A second unidentified person is shown in the photo appearing to hold down the child.

The caption reads, “BLM now,” in reference to the Black Lives Matter movement. The Sheriff’s Office also said the caption indicated the image was related to current “racially-oriented protests.”

McClatchy News chose not to display the photo that shows the child.

Jackson has been arrested on a probation violation, jail records show, and he had not been criminally charged as of Thursday afternoon.

His relationship to the child is unclear

“I don’t understand how he could have done that to a 2-year-old,” the boy’s grandmother, Chasity Sowers, told WHIO. “Like he has no remorse or anything. Like he didn’t care what he was doing or what he was getting himself into.”

Sowers saw the photo posted on Facebook but initially did not realize it was her grandson, she told WHIO.

The mother of the child said she did not know the photo was taken, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The case has been presented to the county’s prosecutor’s office, and the Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate several other people involved in the incident, it said in a release. Charges that Jackson may face were not disclosed.

Meanwhile, a Georgia special needs teacher is under fire for Facebook comments he made on the video. Brian Papin commented, “Again! You’re dong it wrong! One knee on center of the back one on the neck and lean into to it until death! You saw the video! Get it right or stop f--g around!,” WGCL reported.

Papin teaches at Cedar Grove High School near Atlanta, The Champion Newspaper reported.

The DeKalb County School District said it is aware of the post and is “investigating the situation.” It’s unclear what Papin’s relationship with Jackson is.