KENOSHA, Wisconsin, Aug. 24, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — A curfew is in effect until 7 a.m. Monday for all of Kenosha County in Wisconsin after a Black man was critically wounded in an officer-involved shooting.
According to several news sources, the incident occurred late Sunday afternoon when police responded on a domestic call.
A video, which appears to have been taken by someone across the street, shows the man, identified as Jacob Blake, walking around the front of an SUV as two police officers follow behind him. As Blake opens the driver’s-side door and leans in, one of the officers grabs the back of his T-shirt.
In the video, seven shots can be heard as at least one officer fires his gun into the vehicle. It isn’t clear if the other officers fired their weapons.
WDJT-Milwaukee, which has links to the video as well as video of the protests, reported that, “following the shooting, protesters forced out more than a dozen officers guarding the scene. Right before, someone started a fire and an officer was attacked. A CBS 58 photographer was hit in the leg by a brick someone threw at an exiting police car.”
According to other reports from the scene, the protests continued as darkness fell, and the countywide curfew was issued at 10:15 p.m.
Later Sunday night, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers addressed the incident in a statement on Facebook and Twitter:
“Tonight, Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kathy and I join his family, friends, and neighbors in hoping earnestly that he will not succumb to his injuries.
“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.
“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.
“I have said all along that although we must offer our empathy, equally important is our action. In the coming days, we will demand just that of elected officials in our state who have failed to recognize the racism in our state and our country for far too long.”
