A Wisconsin Black man fights for his life after police officers shot him several times on Sunday afternoon, with his children witnessing the shooting.
Reports claim that the Wisconsin police officers responded to a domestic incident at 2800 block of 40th Street at 5:11 p.m., after which shots from one of them were heard and seen. Copies of the video from the incident have been circulating online, causing a mass uprising.
Unfortunately, as the news is still developing as of this writing, the story as to how the encounter ended up in a shooting incident is still unclear. Per CNN, it is still unknown as to who called the police or what had transpired before the video of the shooting started recording.
Wisconsin news: at least seven shots were heard
The Black man was identified by Governor Tony Evers as Jacob Blake. He fell critically injured after at least seven shots were heard after Blake fell limp hitting the steering wheel—based on the prolonged car horn blasted right after—as seen on the video circulating, as USA Today reports.
Wisconsin Gov. Evers released a statement about the incident, saying:
Tonight, Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kathy and I join his family, friends, and neighbors in hoping earnestly that he will not succumb to his injuries. 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 in our state or our country.
Furthermore, Blake’s family has reached out to Attorney Benjamin Crump for help, CNN confirms. He is a known Civil Rights advocate lawyer.
Crump confirms that Blake’s three sons were inside the car when the shooting took place via Twitter.
Confirmed: Jacob Blake’s 3 SONS were IN THE CAR he was getting into when @KenoshaPolice shot him tonight. They saw a cop shoot their father. They will be traumatized forever. We cannot let officers violate their duty to PROTECT us. Our kids deserve better!! #JusticeForJacobBlake
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) August 24, 2020
The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation is now investigating the incident. Accordingly, in the Kenosha Police Department’s official statement, they have immediately requested the Kenosha Sheriff’s Department and Wisconsin State Patrol, “so that the scene could be turned over to an agency, other than Kenosha police.”
— Kenosha Police Dept. (@KenoshaPolice) August 24, 2020
The Kenosha shooting results in another uprising
Moreover, USA Today further highlights that the Kenosha shooting has already been received with quite the backlash, as protests emerged demanding justice for Jacob Blake.
On Monday, police have been trying to disperse protesting people by the hundreds on the streets. The unrest immediately sparked wildly, to a point that the Kenosha County had declared an emergency curfew from 10:15 p.m. on Sunday until 7 a.m. on Monday.
Nevertheless, the Wisconsin Department of Justice is investigating the incident, confirming that the officers involved have now been placed in administrative leave. An incident report has been requested by the Division of Criminal Investigation which should be submitted to the prosecutor within 30 days.
USA Today quotes an excerpt of the DOJ’s statement, saying:
“DCI is leading this investigation and is assisted by Wisconsin State Patrol and Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office. All involved law enforcement are fully cooperating with DCI during this investigation.”
However, the names of the officers have not been revealed, as of this writing.
Featured image courtesy of ev/Unsplash