Jacob Blake Shooting By Police Sparks Outrage In Wisconsin, Officers Placed On Administrative Leave
Jacob Blake, age 29, was shot multiple times in the back, by Wisconsin police officers in front of his three children. The shooting that occurred Sunday evening in Kenosha, Wisconsin sparked outrage causing the county courthouse and vehicles to be set on fire, and windows crushed to pieces late Sunday night. Crowds gathered together to face off with the police where tear gas was released.
On Monday, the news hit nationwide causing protests to erupt in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and New York.
In a video posted on social media, three officers could be seen shouting and pointing their weapons at the man as he walked around the front of a parked SUV. As the man opened the driver’s side door and leaned inside, one officer grabbed his shirt from behind and then fired into the vehicle. Seven shots could be heard on the video, though it was unclear if more than one officer fired, according to nbcchicago.com.
Kenosha officers were called to a domestic incident about 5:11 p.m. Sunday, police said.
The shooting unfolded on a residential street packed with apartment buildings, a block from a city golf course. The Lake Michigan shoreline lies about a mile east.
In the video clip, an African American man walks around the front of a gray SUV with two officers a step or two behind him, one with his weapon trained on the man's back. As the Black man enters the driver side door of his car, the nearest officer grabs the tail of his tank top and seven shots are heard.
The man entering the car appears to go limp. A sustained car horn blares. A woman nearby jumps up and down, apparently in anguish.
While many are wondering where were the body cams for the officers, according to Mayor John Antaramian of Kenosha said that the police do not have body cameras, but the police vehicles are equipped with dash recordings.
Blake's shootings comes on the heels of Trayford Pellerin, a 31-year-old black man, shot to death by the police in Louisiana. According to reports, as the police tried to apprehend Pellerin, he fled the scene and over ten shots were fired. Pellerin was taken to the hospital where he later died.
The officers involved in both incidents were reportedly placed on administrative leave.
Attorney Ben Crump, who represents George Floyd's family, and also posted the video of Blake's shooting, said that his client was tasered by police before the shooting.
A man named Raysean White, who recorded the video got 2.4 million viewers attention. White said he was across the street when he heard two women arguing. He saw Blake arrive and order one of his sons into a vehicle. The boy happily obliged and Blake walked into a home behind a woman, he said.
White stepped away and when he returned, he said, police were wrestling with Blake. White doesn't know what started the argument, he said. He began filming what he called the middle and the end of the altercation, he said, explaining he was angry and traumatized by what he saw and couldn't sleep Sunday night.
White added that black people don't want the police around because they are scared.
"The police want everybody to know they're out here to protect and serve, but you guys are constantly giving us -- Black people, in particular -- reasons not to let you guys protect and serve," White told CNN. "We don't want you guys around because we are scared for our lives. You come to an incident to disarm an argument, and this Black man gets shot. It wasn't supposed to go down that."
Gov. Tony Evers issued a statement giving brief details about Blake's shooting saying Blake is not the first black man to be shot or killed by the hands of law enforcement.
"Tonight, Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight," Evers said in a statement. "While we do not have all of the details yet, what we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement."
The good news in all of this is Blake is still alive and in stable condition. The father of three will be able to be with his children. He will be able to help fight for his own justice while others have not had that chance.
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