Jacob Blake Paralyzed From Waist Down After Being Shot By Wisconsin Police, Father Says

(The AEGIS Alliance) – KENOSHA WISCONSIN – A Black man named Jacob Blake was shot repeatedly in the back by police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday, and he is now paralyzed from the waist down, according to what his father told The Chicago Sun-Times.

The shooting was caught on a now-viral video by a bystander. The incident has ignited protests in Kenosha and other U.S. cities, Minneapolis included, where George Floyd was killed by police in May while in custody.

There are two police officers pointing their guns at 29-year-old Blake in the video, while he was walking away from police and towards a parked SUV on the driver’s side. Blake then opens the vehicle door. Blake then leaned inside and one of the officers grabs the back of Blake’s shirt and then seven or more gunshots are heard being fired. It still isn’t known if both officers fired their guns.

There are some witnesses on the video who can be heard screaming and yelling while the shooting was happening.

Police said officers at the scene gave Blake medical aid not long before he was taken to a hospital. The officers involved in the incident have been given administrative leave, which is the standard procedure in a police shooting, pending an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice is concluded. Administrative leave is more like a paid vacation for cops because they still get paid.

Police did report they were responding to a “domestic incident” dispatch call. Witnesses have said Blake was breaking up a fight between two women not long before the shooting occurred on Sunday and police moved towards him.

Jacob Blake’s father talked to him on Sunday morning and Blake had plans to celebrate his son’s eighth birthday on that day.

“What justified all those shots? What justified doing that in front of my grandsons? What are we doing?” Blake’s father said, whose name is also Jacob Blake.

Doctors don’t know yet if the younger Blake is going to suffer from paralysis permanently, his father said to the Sun-Times.

Justin Blake, who is Jacob’s Uncle, described hearing the terrifying news that his nephew got shot by police.

“This is like all the Black parents talk about it; it’s that phone call you don’t want to get and we got it. So you have to sort of being strong for each other. Let your faith lead the way,” Justin said.

Justin Blake said his nephew is “one hell of a young man” and said his family is sending prayers for him to make a strong recovery and live a “great quality of life” from here on out. Jacob Blake’s family is asking people across the country to protest peacefully when it comes to the shooting.

“We want justice and we’re going to get justice. We’re going to demand justice. But we’re going to do that without tearing up own communities,” Justin Blake mentioned.

“This is like all the Black parents talk about; it’s that phone call you don’t want to get, and we got it,” Justin Blake said after his nephew Jacob Blake is in critical condition after being shot by a cop in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

“This is like all the Black parents talk about; it’s that phone call you don’t want to get, and we got it,” says Justin Blake after his nephew Jacob Blake was shot and critically injured by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The family urged people to “protest nonviolently” pic.twitter.com/ITpnrBdBaq

— CNN This Morning (@CNNThisMorning) August 25, 2020

Protests erupted in Kenosha on both Sunday evening and on Monday night. Protesters were met with tear gas being fired by police to break up the crowd at around 30 minutes after an 8 p.m. curfew took effect that was issued by the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office, according to The Associated Press.

There are reports that some demonstrators lit fireworks and launched bottles at the cops who were standing guard at a courthouse. Others set a garbage truck on fire.

Demonstrators in Minnesota marched in solidarity with the protesters in Kenosha. There was a point where 100 protesters all came together outside the Adult Detention Center in Hennepin County. The jail is where several demonstrators who had been arrested earlier that night were being held, WCCO-TV reports.

Kyle James Lee – The AEGIS Alliance – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.