- Wisconsin police have come under fire after one of their officers was caught on camera shooting a black man seven times during an incident on Sunday
- The victim, Jacob Blake, is now in a serious condition in hospital, while the officers involved have been placed on administrative leave
- The shooting has renewed calls for police to be re-trained, and wider justice for Black communities, with hundreds of protestors descending on Kenosha
- The National Guard has been called into the city to enforce a curfew, amid concerns protests could become violent
- In the meantime, Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden has condemned the actions of the officers connected to the incident
- The Governor of Wisconsin has also called for a review of police conduct following the incident
Protests have erupted across the U.S. as another Black man was shot by police, this time in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Shooting
Video of the shooting on Sunday shows two armed officers following 29-year-old Jacob Blake as he walked around an SUV and attempted to enter the car. Before he could get inside though, one of the officers grabs his shirt and fires seven shots at him.
Blake’s three children were in the SUV at the time and witnessed the entire shooting, according to his attorney.
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
Remarkably, Blake survived the shooting and is now in a serious condition in hospital, fighting for his life. Police had been called out to a home after a verbal altercation erupted between two women. Blake wasn’t believed to be armed at the time, nor directly involved in the dispute.
The two officers directly involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, while the Wisconsin Department of Justice will lead an investigation into their actions.
Protests
Following the shooting and footage of the incident going viral, protestors promptly descended on Kenosha, Wisconsin. Police responded with riot-gear clad officers, with violence quickly breaking out between the two sides as tear gas was deployed on Sunday night.
The protests weren’t limited to Wisconsin, with protestors also appearing in New York, Washington D.C. and Minneapolis — where George Floyd was allegedly murdered by police earlier this year — sparking widespread Black Lives Matter protests across the globe.
In response to the protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin authorities announced a curfew from Monday night, to be enforced by the National Guard. Meanwhile, businesses in the area shuttered their stores, anticipating further violence and rioting.
Reaction
In the meantime, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers condemned the officers involved, stating “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.”
His words were echoed by Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden, who released a statement calling for justice for Blake and other Black men and women who’d been attacked by police. He also called for an end to systemic racism, arguing Black Americans are still yet to be “treated equally”.
“Equal justice has not been real for Black Americans and so many others. We are at an inflection point. We must dismantle systemic racism,” he said.
Yesterday, Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by police. His kids watched from the car. Today, we woke to grieve yet again.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 24, 2020
We need a full and transparent investigation. https://t.co/9X7l25nq8d