The video shows Wisconsin police shooting a black man into a car multiple times
Police officers in Kenosha, Wis., shot a Black man multiple times as he tried to get into a vehicle, cellphone video of the incident shows. The man, identified by Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) as Jacob Blake, is in serious condition, according to the Kenosha Police Department.
A large crowd of protesters gathered following the police shooting of a man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday. He was identified by Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers as Jacob Blake. The county declared a state of emergency overnight curfew, according to CBS Milwaukee affiliate WDJT-TV.
The man was transported to the hospital in serious condition, according to police. His father said on Facebook that his son is alive and in stable condition. Family friend Daniel Poneman tweeted that Blake is out of surgery, in the ICU and is "expected to make it."
The shooting happened after 5 p.m., when officers responded to a domestic incident, police said. Witnesses told the Kenosha News that Blake was trying to break up a fight and that police first attempted to taser Blake.
The social media video shows neighbors congregated outside as two police officers with their guns drawn followed Blake as he approached a gray SUV. As Blake opened the driver’s side door, multiple shots ring out from the police.
Kenosha News reported that Blake was shot in front of his children. Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney, posted on Twitter that Blake’s three sons were inside the car.
Police have not commented on what led to the shooting. He was taken to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, police said.
Police turned the scene over to the Kenosha Sheriff’s Department and the Wisconsin State Patrol. The Wisconsin Department of Justice will investigate the shooting, police said.
“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,” Evers said in a statement. “We stand with all those who have and continue to demand justice, equity, and accountability for Black lives in our country.”
Hours after the incident, a crowd of protesters gathered at the intersection where Blake was shot. Tensions rose as more police officers arrived at the scene wearing riot gear, and several police cars were damaged. A video shows one police officer being hit with a brick and collapsing to the ground.
The group eventually moved away from the intersection. A live stream of a march through Kenosha showed some people walking down the street and others in their cars, with hundreds eventually congregating outside the Kenosha County Public Safety Building.
Police soon arrived with riot gear and were armed with rubber bullets. In the video found from the scene, police show tear gas splatter. Several protesters left the scene and continued to tour the city.Kenosha letter issued a city-wide curfew until 7 am on Monday.
The video of Blake’s shooting ignited widespread outrage online. Julián Castro, the former San Antonio mayor and Democratic presidential candidate, expressed his outrage on Twitter, questioning if the police considered “non-lethal methods.”
“Why didn’t officers physically restrain him? Or use their tasers? Or disable the vehicle?,” Castro added.
Bernice King, Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter and the chief executive of the King Center, said on Twitter she was dismayed to see another video of a Black person being “brutalized and/or gunned down by police.”
“Anybody who doesn’t believe we are beyond a state of emergency is choosing to lack empathy and awareness,” King said.
