This just happend in Kenosha, WI. 💔#BlackLivesMatter. pic.twitter.com/QLW7Vxtdzm
— chrizi (@nolimitchrizi) August 23, 2020
[Warning: Video is disturbing.]
Video posted to social media showed a police officer shooting a black man in the back multiple times at point-blank range. As seen on footage, a man in a white tanktop and black shorts walked away from cops, who had their guns drawn. He stepped around a vehicle, and opened the driver-side door. One of the officers had grabbed him by the shirt, and opened fire as the man’s torso began to enter through the door.
Kenosha police said the situation happened Sunday afternoon. Cops said they were at the scene regarding a domestic incident when the shooting happened. According to authorities, officers provided immediate aid to the man who’d been shot. He was transported in serious condition to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee. The Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation are investigating.
Kenosha News said at least a half-dozen witnesses said the man had been attempting to break up a fight between two women. Police tried to Tase him before the shooting, they said. The man was identified as Jacob Blake, 29.
“We’ve never had anything like this happen before,” said local man Juventino Camputano. He was described as a resident living there for 40 years.
The incident immediately sparked protests, and landed right on a cultural fissure: The ongoing national debate on how law enforcement treats people of color, especially black men.
Crowd outside @KenoshaPolice tear gassed and mostly dispersed now.@CBS58 pic.twitter.com/4VzAC78oAT
— Kim Shine (@KimShineCBS58) August 24, 2020
Early morning Monday, police announced a city-wide curfew to take place until 7 a.m. CT.
“Tonight, Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight, in Kenosha, Wisconsin,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement Sunday night, according to CBS 58. “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.”
[Image via @nolimitchrizi on Twitter]
