On a Thanksgiving night in Brooklyn, the life of 28-year-old Robert Enoch Hinton was cut short by gunfire. Hinton was found shot in the head and stomach outside a public housing complex on November 26, 2015. His death came at a pivotal moment, just as he was anticipating a fresh start, fueled by a recent settlement with the city of New York.
Earlier that year, Hinton had been awarded $450,000 in a civil rights lawsuit.
The settlement stemmed from a brutal beating he endured at the hands of several correction officers at Rikers Island in 2012. The incident, which occurred in a solitary confinement unit, left him with a broken nose and a fractured back. The severity of the beating led to the firing of five correction officers and a captain. Hinton's lawyer stated that he had planned to use the settlement money to move his family out of the city and build a better life.
Despite his troubled past, which included time served at Rikers, those close to Hinton described him as a man hopeful for the future. He had taken college courses with the dream of one day opening his own business. His family remembered him as a protector with a resilient spirit, whose infectious smile and determined voice would not be forgotten.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the New York City Police Department reported that they had no suspects and had made no arrests. Another individual was also shot in the leg during the incident but was expected to survive. Online sources available in the years following Robert Enoch Hinton's death do not contain information about any arrests or the identification of any suspects in connection with his murder.
