KENOSHA - Video surfaced Sunday evening of a Kenosha police officer shooting a Black man in the back at least seven times as he was entering his vehicle.
The violence against Mr. Jacob Blake by police sparked immediate outrage in the Kenosha community, causing a tense night of demonstrations. Kenosha Police showed up in riot gear, using tear gas against protesters and armed with rubber bullets.
Chris Ott, executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin, issued the following statement regarding the incident.
“Let’s not mince words: The police shooting that occurred in Kenosha Sunday evening looks like attempted murder. News outlets have reported that Mr. Blake, the man shot seven times in the back by Kenosha PD, was attempting to break up a fight between two women before he was shot. He did not appear to be armed and was walking away from police when an officer repeatedly shot him with his back turned and in front of his children. While his family endures this deep and lasting trauma, Mr. Blake now fights for his life at a local hospital, put there by the very people sworn to protect and serve the community.
“These repeated acts of violence against Black people by police have created a clear message: the police do not value the lives of the people in the Black and brown communities they serve in the same way that they do their own. For the last three months, people in Wisconsin and across the country have taken to the streets to protest the routine harassment and abuse that people of color experience at the hands of law enforcement. This cruel, avoidable, and gruesome shooting once again demonstrates why the task of transforming American policing is so urgent. Reform is not enough.”
