Video Shows Cop Shooting Wisconsin Man in the Back 7 Times
Witnesses say Jacob Blake was breaking up a fight before an officer grabbed his shirt and shot him at close range.
Just a few months after the police killing of George Floyd sparked national protests, a cellphone video shows officers in Wisconsin repeatedly shooting a man in the back, leaving him in critical condition.
The short video, shot Sunday afternoon, shows members of the Kenosha Police Department (KPD) pointing a gun at Jacob Blake while he walks toward a vehicle. While Blake opens the door, an officer grabs his shirt and shoots him at close range, in the back, seven times. Blake slumps against the car horn while onlookers react in horror.
(Video may be disturbing to some viewers.)
https://twitter.com/AttorneyCrump/status/1297721479711334401
The KPD released a vague statement about the incident, saying that the officers were responding to a domestic incident before shooting Blake. The department also said that the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation will investigate the shooting.
While details are still emerging, multiple witnesses told Kenosha News that Blake was intervening in a fight between two women when police arrived to break up the incident. Witnesses also said that officers attempted to use a Taser before shooting Blake and that Blake was unarmed at the time of the shooting.
After being shot, Blake was transported to Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa, where he is said to be in serious condition.
The unarmed man shot in the back by Kenosha police as he was walking away this afternoon is 29-year-old Jacob Blake.
This photo was provided by his fiance. pic.twitter.com/mEklKPtgbE
— Rebecca Kavanagh (@DrRJKavanagh) August 24, 2020
Reactions to the video were swift. Within hours, protesters gathered.
Protesters are currently at the intersection of 40th Street and 28th Avenue in Kenosha, Wisconsin where the man was shot several times by police.
Police say he's in serious condition. pic.twitter.com/v0nhRxZvMb
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) August 24, 2020
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Meg Jones shared on-the-scene photos and videos of the reaction, some of which occurred in front of the KPD building. Jones captured city vehicles being set on fire and police using tear gas against the crowd.
Protesters set a city of Kenosha dump truck on fire after being disbursed with teargas and flash bangs from in front of the Kenosha Police Department. pic.twitter.com/V6e7EoAWbJ
— Meg Jones (@MegJonesJS) August 24, 2020
Crowd sets city of Kenosha vehicles on fire. pic.twitter.com/cyJQ3UzgnR
— Meg Jones (@MegJonesJS) August 24, 2020
https://twitter.com/MegJonesJS/status/1297756964785725441
Crowd is lessening but there's still at least a couple of hundred people in the square next to the Kenosha County Courthouse. @journalsentinel pic.twitter.com/L86IBr7oOh
— Meg Jones (@MegJonesJS) August 24, 2020
The KPD announced a citywide curfew late Sunday evening.
Gov. Tony Evers wrote in a Facebook post, "We stand with all those who have and continue to demand justice, equity, and accountability for Black lives in our country—lives like those of George Floyd, of Breonna Taylor, Tony Robinson, Dontre Hamilton, Ernest Lacy, and Sylville Smith. And we stand against excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging with Black Wisconsinites."
