By Rashi Jain
On 23rd August, Jacob Blake Jr., an African American citizen, 29 years old, residing in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was shot by a policeman. According to the preliminary investigations and evidence, the same day, Kenosha Police was reported by a domestic disturbance in the crime location and when they arrived, Jacob Blake was trying to de-escalate the fight between two women. The witnesses and a video made by these witnesses claimed that A policeman grabbed Jacob’s shirt while he was attempting to board on his car and shot him in the back at least seven times from a very close range.
Jacob Blake’s fiancée Laquisha Booker, a witness to the shooting told the reporting while criticizing the act of Wisconsin police for overeating, “It don’t make no sense that you treat somebody like that, Who are not armed, are not giving you no problem, ain’t thrown no punch or nothing. So you had a gun, so you used it!? You overused it, that’s what you did – you shot him numerous times for no reason, and disregard that my kids were in the car. And you knew they were in there because I kept screaming before you even made it to the driver’s side to get him in the car”.
Shortly, he was administered medical aid by police and immediately was airlifted to a nearby hospital. He was also reported to be in a critical situation by the doctors. Later on 25th August, Jacob Blake’s father also named Jacob Blake Sr. told the reporters that his son is paralyzed from the waist down with ‘eight holes’ in his body. On the same day, Benjamin Crump, Prominent civil rights attorney representing Blake’s family confirmed the news via Twitter stating, “Confirmed: Jacob Blake currently paralyzed from the waist down. Praying it’s not permanent. #JusticeForJacobBlake”
The spread of the video sparked protests not only in Kenosha but also in several other US cities including New York. Demonstrators set buildings on fire and clashed with police and as a result, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers denounced police excessive force at the night of the shooting. Later that day Curfew was declared by the governor after deploying National Security Guard and local police, however, curfew was ignored by protestors. As result Authorities used tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets to disperse the protest.
On the following day, Wisconsin Authorities announced that the investigation is handled by the Wisconsin Justice Department, Wisconsin State Petrol, and the Kenosha County District Attorney’s office and also announced that the police officers involved in the shooting were sent on Administrative leave.
District attorney ‘Michael Gravely’ discussed the criminal charges against the officers involved in the shooting, “One, did any officer, in this case, commit any crimes? And two, are there any crimes we believe were committed that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt? If those two things are concluded as a ‘yes,’ then criminal charges would be brought at the end of that process.”