US prosecutors exonerate police officer for shooting Jacob Blake

KENOSHA, Wisconsin: On Tuesday (January 5) prosecutors acquitted a white police officer for the August 23 shooting of black man Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, an incident that sparked deadly street protests and fueled racial tensions. in United States.

Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley found that Police Officer Rusten Sheskey acted in self-defense while shooting Blake seven times at point-blank range, and said Blake was armed with a knife and had resisted arrest, resisting multiple taser shots.

The decision not to prosecute Sheskey or the other two officers at the scene could prompt more demonstrations, which have frequently erupted in the United States in recent years after police were acquitted of wrongdoing. against African Americans.

Downtown Kenosha was empty of shoppers and pedestrians when the announcement was made, as most of the storefronts were bricked up in recent days in anticipation of further rioting.

“People are definitely still nervous,” said Kenoshian Jon Zamora, 30, of his life, as he walked up to a store in Kenosha, a city of 100,000 between Milwaukee and Chicago.

The knife was not easily seen in the video of the shooting that went viral on social media. The video also did not show previous attempts to arrest Blake, who was wanted on a felony warrant, as police were told before arriving on the scene, Graveley said.

Blake refused police orders to drop the knife, which Graveley said gave Sheskey the right to self-defense.

“It is absolutely incontrovertible that Jacob Blake was armed with a knife during this encounter,” Graveley said, adding that Blake repeatedly admitted to investigators that he had the knife.

The prosecutor called the incident a tragedy for everyone involved.

Blake, who was shot in the presence of three young children, was paralyzed from the waist down.

“We are immensely disappointed and feel that this decision failed not only Jacob and his family, but the community who protested and demanded justice,” Blake’s attorney, Ben Crump, said on Twitter.

“Our work is not done and hope is not lost. We must expand the fight for justice on behalf of Jacob Blake and the countless other black victims of racial injustice and police brutality,” said Crump, who has represented other African Americans. at high level. profiles of civil rights cases.

The shooting took place while passions were still alight over the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man, after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck. Thousands of people took to the streets in the “Black Lives Matter” anti-racism protests in the United States and around the world following Floyd’s death despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Sheskey’s shooting against Blake drew a mix of civil rights protesters, anarchists and right-wing militias to Kenosha.

At the height of those protests, teenager Kyle Rittenhouse opened fire with a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle, killing two men and wounding another. Rittenhouse, now 18, was charged with first-degree reckless murder and five other criminal charges.

Earlier Tuesday, Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty to all charges in a video appearance in Kenosha County Circuit Court.

As the decision to impeach Sheskey approached, the city of Kenosha announced that it was making preparations for the demonstrations. Responding to the request of local officials, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers authorized the Wisconsin National Guard to support local police in anticipation of riots.

Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian and Police Chief Daniel Miskinis said in a statement Sunday that authorities would impose curfews, designate an area for demonstrations, section off fenced areas and close streets.