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An unidentified man participates in a Blue Lives Matter rally Sunday, Aug.30, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin (AP Photo / Morry Gash)
KENOSHA, Wis. – Dozens of police supporters gathered Sunday in downtown Kenosha, where protesters have been demonstrating against police brutality since the Jacob Blake shooting last weekend.
Some of the attendees at the rally in Wisconsin wore “blue back” shirts. Others carried American flags. They applauded as police vehicles passed.
“With the things they face on a daily basis, they need that little extra push of love and showing that they are necessary,” said Jennifer Peyton, 44, who attended the rally.
“I mean, if you went to work every day and they told you you were bad or had things thrown at you, I think that would weigh a bit on your psyche too.”
Blake was shot in the back by a Kenosha police officer on August 23, leaving the 29-year-old black man paralyzed.
Protesters have marched in Kenosha every night since the Blake shooting, and some protests have turned into riots that damaged buildings and vehicles. Authorities say a northern Illinois teenager shot and killed two protesters in Kenosha Tuesday night.
The state of emergency curfew from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. that expired Sunday was extended until 7:00 a.m. Wednesday, the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office said.
The Blake shooting sparked new protests against racial injustice and police brutality several months after George Floyd’s death on May 25 triggered a broader settling of accounts over race.
Floyd, another black man, was handcuffed and died after a Minneapolis officer pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck.
Blake was shot after three Kenosha officers responded to a domestic dispute call.
In cellphone video recorded by a passerby, Blake walks from the curb around the front of a pickup truck to the driver’s side door as officers follow him with guns in hand and yell at him.
When Blake opens the door and leans into the truck, an officer grabs his shirt from behind and opens fire. Three of Blake’s sons were in the vehicle.
City officials have identified Rusten Sheskey as the officer who shot Blake.
The Kenosha Police Union said Blake had a knife and fought with officers. State investigators have only said that officers found a knife on the floor of the car.
Blake is being treated at a hospital. His father, Jacob Blake Sr., said he is paralyzed from the waist down.
Ben Crump, a lawyer for the family, told CBS “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the young Blake suffered “catastrophic injuries” including a perforated spinal cord and ruptured vertebrae. He has lost his colon and most of his intestine, Crump said.
Like Floyd’s death, the Blake shooting has fueled a national movement against police brutality and the killing of black people by law enforcement officials.
The movement has revealed even deeper divisions in the country.
Some people at Sunday’s rally signed petitions urging the recall of Gov. Tony Evers and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, both Democrats, and added messages of support on handwritten signs thanking the police as heroes.
About 1,000 people attended a rally to protest against police violence on Saturday.
The city’s mayor, John Antaramian, said on Sunday he will ask the state for $ 30 million to rebuild parts of Kenosha destroyed or damaged by the violence, according to Kenosha News.
President Donald Trump has spoken out against the summer protests. He is expected to visit Kenosha on Tuesday to meet with law enforcement and examine the damage from the protests.
Evers wrote to Trump on Sunday, urging the president to reconsider his plans to visit Kenosha.
“I, along with other community leaders who have reached out, are concerned about what their presence will mean for Kenosha and our state. I am concerned that your presence only hinders our healing. I am concerned that their presence will only delay our work to overcome the divide and move forward together, ”Evers wrote.
Barnes indicated that Trump may not be welcome.
“I don’t know how, given the previous statements the president made, he intends to come here to help and we don’t need him at all at this point,” Barnes told CNN on Sunday.
Crump said the Blake family “has not been contacted at this time” by Trump.
On Sunday, some Kenosha residents gathered around a Family Dollar as volunteers handed out donations and painted peace messages on bricked-up buildings. A DJ played house and hip-hop music while volunteers danced in masks to ward off the coronavirus.
“I needed this today,” said David Sánchez, 66, who is retired. “I went to church this morning and it was about Jacob Blake and his family. It is 100% positive. “
Sánchez said the Blake shooting forced Kenosha to “come out of the closet.”
“There has been a lot of prejudice here for years,” said Sánchez, whose family moved to San Antonio, Texas, in the 1950s. “We have to face it.”
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