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Not again

Wisconsin man, 29, paralyzed after being shot in the back Sunday by police as his children watched

Free Press wire reports | 8/27/2020, 6 p.m.
Suddenly there is a new name and a new face to remind people that the lesson of George Floyd has …
Jacob Blake

KENOSHA, Wis. - Suddenly there is a new name and a new face to remind people that the lesson of George Floyd has not sunk in among many in the police rank and file.

Three months after a Minneapolis police officer was captured on video killing George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nearly 9 minutes, sparking worldwide protests, Kenosha Police are taking their turn on video and triggering new, violent protests.

The man police shot in Kenosha is Jacob Blake, 29.

He was shot multiple times in the back Sunday, survived, but is paralyzed, and it would “take a miracle” for him to walk again, his family’s attorney, Benjamin Crump, said Tuesday.

Mr. Crump called for the officer who opened fire to be arrested and others involved to lose their jobs.

The details are still murky, but what is known is that officers were responding to a domestic abuse call. A cell phone video taken by a bystander shows Mr. Blake in an altercation with three officers. Mr. Blake is then seen walking to his SUV in which three of his young children, ages 3, 5 and 8, were seated. The officers, guns drawn, are following behind him.

On the video, Mr. Blake opens the door and leans into the SUV. Then an officer grabs Mr. Blake’s shirt from behind and starts firing. Seven shots can be heard, though it isn’t clear how many struck Mr. Blake or how many officers fired. It is unclear whether the officer who fired thought Mr. Blake was going for a gun.

Kenosha Police are keeping mum, and Wisconsin’s Department of Justice is investigating.

But as news of the shooting spread, there was an eruption in Kenosha. Initial protests that began hours after the shooting have continued for several days.

On Monday night, crowds destroyed dozens of buildings and set 34 fires in the city’s downtown. Police used tear gas to disperse crowds, including a gathering outside Kenosha’s courthouse, where some shook a protective fence and threw water bottles and fireworks at officers lined up behind it.

Police used armored vehicles while officers with shields pushed back the crowd when protesters ignored warnings to leave a nearby park.

Multiple gunshots also were reported and people carrying long guns and other weapons remained in the streets hours after they city’s 8 p.m. curfew.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers called out the National Guard to assist Kenosha Police, and Tuesday, he doubled the initial contingent from 125 to 250.

Gov. Evers called for calm, but also declared a state of emergency as a result of the damage.

“We cannot allow the cycle of systemic racism and injustice to continue,” said Gov. Evers, who is facing mounting criticism from Republicans over his handling of the unrest in the presidential battleground state. “We also cannot continue going down this path of damage and destruction.”

“Nobody deserves this,” said Pat Oertle, owner of Computer Adventure, surveying the damage on Tuesday. Computers were stolen, and the store was “destroyed,” she said.

“This accomplishes nothing,” Ms. Oertle said. “This is not justice that they’re looking for.”

Mr. Blake’s mother, Julia Jackson, said the damage in Kenosha does not reflect what her family wants and that, if her son could see it, he would be “very unpleased.”

(Reports of the police shooting triggered mostly peaceful protests in other cities, including Richmond. Monday night, more than 100 people marched down Broad Street decrying the shooting and police brutality.) Other protests took place in Wisconsin’s capital of Madison, in Los Angeles and in Minneapolis, the epicenter of the Black Lives Matter movement following Mr. Floyd’s May 25 slaying.

Jacob Blake Sr. (red plaid shirt) and Julia Jackson (standing beside him), the parents of Jacob Blake, attend a news conference tuesday in Kenosha, Wis. Violent unrest broke out after video of the shooting of Jacob Blake, 29, was widely disseminated on social media sunday. Mr. Blake was shot in the back several times by a Kenosha police officer. According to his father, Mr. Blake is paralyzed from the waist down.

Jacob Blake Sr. (red plaid shirt) and Julia Jackson (standing beside him), the parents of Jacob Blake, attend a news conference tuesday in Kenosha, Wis. Violent unrest broke out after video of the shooting of Jacob Blake, 29, was widely disseminated on social media sunday. Mr. Blake was shot in the back several times by a Kenosha police officer. According to his father, Mr. Blake is paralyzed from the waist down.

On Tuesday, Mr. Blake’s father, Jacob Blake Sr., talked to the media, along with other family members and Mr. Crump. He said police shot his son “seven times, seven times, like he didn’t matter.”

“But my son matters. He’s a human being and he matters.” During the news conference, Mr. Crump said Mr. Blake was in surgery, adding that the bullets severed Mr. Blake’s spinal cord and shattered his vertebrae. Another attorney said there was also severe damage to Mr. Blake’s organs.

Ms. Jackson said the first thing her son said to her when she saw him was “he was sorry.”

“He said, ‘I don’t want to be a burden on you guys,’ ” Ms. Jackson said. “ ‘I want to be with my children, and I don’t think I’ll walk again.’ ”

The legal team plans to file a civil lawsuit against the police department over the shooting.

Three of Mr. Blake’s sons were in the car at the time of the shooting, Mr. Crump said. It was the 8-year-old’s birthday, he added.

“I really ask you and encourage everyone in Wisconsin and abroad to take a moment and examine your hearts,” Ms. Jackson said at the news conference. “Do Jacob justice on this level and examine your hearts. ... As I pray for my son’s healing physically, emotionally and spiritually, I also have been praying even before this for the healing of our country.”