A suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin erupted in violence on Sunday after police shot a 29-year-old black man who was resisting arrest.
Police responded to a domestic disturbance around 5 p.m. in Kenosha where the man, identified as Jacob Blake, was allegedly attempting to break up an altercation between two females. Court documents show that Blake had a violent criminal record, a history of resisting arrest, and an active warrant for his arrest.
According to witnesses, the officers attempted to use a taser on the noncompliant suspect before shooting him. Cell phone video shows Blake walking away from the police toward the driver side door of his car, opening the door, and reaching for something inside the vehicle while a crowd of onlookers screams at the police.
At this point, one of the officers opens fire, hitting him several times.
It’s worth pointing out that after Blake resisted an arrest in 2015, police found a handgun in his vehicle behind the driver’s seat.
https://twitter.com/MarkDice/status/1297745953856790528?s=20
Witnesses said Blake was unarmed, although it is not yet known whether the suspect had a weapon.
According to a police department press release, Kenosha police provided immediate aid to the man, and he was transported via Flight for Life to an area hospital. Sunday evening, the man was listed in serious condition. By Monday, his condition had reportedly stabilized.
Following the incident, “dozens of squad cars from the Kenosha Police and Kenosha County Sheriff’s department and Wisconsin State Patrol converged in the Wilson Heights neighborhood, lining the streets approaching the scene,” Kenosha News reported.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation is reportedly handling the investigation into the officer-involved shooting.
The incident on Sunday wasn’t the first time Blake, who has a lengthy criminal record, has resisted arrest.
In 2015, a K9 Dozer had to help officers take Blake into custody when he refused to comply with police orders after they were called to respond to an altercation at a local bar. Blake had gotten into an argument with another patron at the bar and pulled a handgun on the individual.
Blake left the scene in a silver SUV before officers arrived. Racine Police were able to track the SUV down and initiated a traffic stop.
Believing the driver was armed, police conducted a high risk traffic stop, the complaint reads, and ordered Blake to put his hands out the window of the vehicle. Instead, Blake exited the SUV and started walking toward officers and ignored commands to get down on the ground. Officers forced Blake to the ground and ordered him to put his hands behind his back. When Blake refused to comply, K9 Dozer was deployed to force the defendant into compliance.
The police report goes on to say that a black handgun was found on the floor behind the driver’s seat.
A box of ammunition was also found, and two loaded magazines were discovered in Blake’s coat.
Blake, then 24, was charged in Racine County Circuit Court “with one felony count of resisting arrest causing a soft tissue injury to a police officer and one misdemeanor count each of carrying a concealed weapon, carrying a firearm while intoxicated, endangering safety-use of a dangerous weapon, and disorderly conduct.”
He faced 8-1/2 years in prison and/or up to $50,000 in fines.
Wisconsin Circuit Court also lists an active arrest warrant against Blake on multiple charges, including domestic abuse, criminal trespassing and 3rd degree sexual assault.
It’s easy to judge the police for making a snap decision to use deadly force against a suspect, but when the perp has a violent criminal history, police have to respond accordingly or risk not going home to their families that night.
The following video from 2017 shows what can happen when police only deploy tasers on a violent, drugged up offender who is determined to get away.
Predictably, Democrats have rushed in to fan the flames of racial unrest over the shooting of the noncompliant and notoriously violent suspect who had a warrant out for his arrest.
Benjamin Crump, an ambulance-chasing racial justice attorney retained by Blake’s family, claimed Blake’s three children were inside the SUV when their father was shot by police. “We will seek justice for Jacob Blake and for his family as we demand answers from the Kenosha Police Department,” Crump said in a statement.
Wisconsin’s Democrat Governor Tony Evers suggested that Blake was “mercilessly” shot by Kenosha police.
“Tonight, Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight,” Evers 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.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday she was “deeply disturbed” by the video of the police shooting.
“Yesterday in Wisconsin, a police officer shot Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man, a father, 7 times in the back,” Lightfoot tweeted Monday morning. “I am deeply disturbed by the video capturing part of the incident. I urge civil & criminal authorities to pursue an immediate & thorough investigation of the shooting.”
“We pray that Mr. Blake survives. And we pray for his children, and for peace and justice in Kenosha,” Lightfoot added.
Yesterday in Wisconsin, a police officer shot Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man, a father, 7 times in the back. I am deeply disturbed by the video capturing part of the incident. I urge civil & criminal authorities to pursue an immediate & thorough investigation of the shooting.
— Archived: Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot (@mayorlightfoot) August 24, 2020
Now, a violent insurrection has ensued. Rioters set off fireworks, burned down buildings, damaged police vehicles, threw projectiles at police, and tried to seize the police station.
Cell phone video shows an officer being hit in the head with a brick and knocked unconscious.
https://twitter.com/Oathkeepers/status/1297777500362285056?s=20
BLM rioters in Kenosha, Wisc. start fires. pic.twitter.com/XhLMTEZzrq
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) August 24, 2020
BLM rioters have completely torched this local small business building in Wisconsin pic.twitter.com/bPIcjXbi0G
— Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) August 24, 2020
A local church’s good liberal standing was not enough to protect it from getting set ablaze by the mob.
BLM arson attacks overnight in Kenosha, Wisc. spread to the Bradford Community Church, a far-left universalist religious organization. The church’s sign in support of #BlackLivesMatter was consumed in flames. pic.twitter.com/u02CIwsnIm
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) August 24, 2020
A whole car lot was set ablaze overnight in the #BlackLivesMatter riot in Kenosha, Wisc. pic.twitter.com/ZNGtqFEOa0
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) August 24, 2020
At one point, BLM rioters tried to “seize” a Kenosha police station.
https://twitter.com/anoncatanoncat/status/1297765625717305349?s=20
Armed rioters also tried to shut down a street and forced a sheriff’s vehicle to stop for them.
This is insane. BLM rioters armed with semi-auto rifles have shut down the street in #Kenosha and ordered a Sheriff’s vehicle to stop. Video by @livesmattershow. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/cDhmOBG1p9
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) August 24, 2020