Harris, a former California attorney general and attorney general, admitted that she did not know all the facts of Blake’s case and reiterated that she wanted the officer to get a proper trial. Asked if she felt the officer’s use of force was justified, Harris said “I do not see it. But I do not have any evidence.”
“The man was going to go to his car. He did not appear to be armed,” she said. “If he was not armed, the use of force came from seven bullets coming from a pistol at close range in the back of the man. I do not see how anyone could argue that that was fair.”
Blake’s shooting came amid a summer of protests against anti – black racism and police violence following the death of George Floyd, who was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer who arrested him. President Donald Trump condemned the riots and looting that erupted alongside the protests, and threatened the use of federal troops to stop the unrest.
Trump has repeatedly used racial tensions as a talking point of the campaign, in contrast to his “law and order message” with Democratic candidates Joe Biden and Harris. Trump administration officials said Thursday that the uprisings in some cities are benefiting from the presidential election campaign.
Both Harris and Biden condemned Trump on Thursday for using fuel language and threatening federal power in the face of fierce racial conflicts, and accused the president of dismissal for his own political gain.
