The Kenosha, Wisconsin Police Department reported on Friday about the judicial investigation to clarify why Jacob Blake, an unarmed black citizen, was shot seven times in the back by an officer last Sunday.
Meanwhile, Blake's family has reported that he is recovering from injuries (which have left him paralyzed from the waist down) handcuffed to the hospital bed. In the early afternoon, he was finally released and the arrest warrants that allegedly weighed against him and that justify, according to the police, his chaining have also been withdrawn.
Seven shots in the back, what is known of the black man shot by police in Wisconsin
Aug. 24, 202001: 51The police account of what happened, revealed today, is as follows: three agents went to a house on Sunday afternoon after a woman called to report that her boyfriend was there when he shouldn't. They then tried to arrest Blake, 29, and after a failed first attempt, one of the policemen, Vincent Arenas, tried to use his taser gun but it didn't work.
[Identity of police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times in Wisconsin revealed]
So, Blake kept walking towards his vehicle, opened the door and leaned forward. Another policeman, Rusten Sheskey, grabbed his shirt and shot him seven times in the back. The officers were not wearing body recording cameras, according to the police statement.
During the police investigation, Blake admitted to having a knife, according to police, which he says was found inside the vehicle. No other weapons were found. The agents are on administrative leave during the investigation of what happened, in which the FBI and the Wisconsin State Police participate.
Speaking to CNN, an uncle of Blake said he was handcuffed to the stretcher on which he is recovering from his injuries at the Wauwatosa hospital. "It is an insult added to the wound," said Justin Blake, "he is paralyzed and cannot walk and they have him handcuffed to the bed, why?"
As reported by CBS, police spokesman David Wright explained that Blake had arrest warrants for previous crimes: burglary, domestic and sexual abuse, and disorderly conduct.
The family's attorney, Patrick Cafferty, explained this afternoon that a $ 500 bond was posted for the warrant against him since July, and Blake is no longer handcuffed (in addition, there were two officers in his room at all times , according to account). "Obviously, it will be easier for him and for the doctors and his family," said the lawyer, "we can focus on the merits of the criminal case."
Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang claimed to have spoken with Blake's father, who, he said, is glad his son is already conscious but very angry that he was "in chains," in the words he allegedly used. His first words upon waking up after being shot were to ask why he had been shot so many times, his father told Yang.
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Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said he couldn't even imagine why Blake was in handcuffs: "I can't understand why it would be necessary." "I would hope that we could find a better way to help him recover," he added, "it seems like a bad remedy."
The shooting against Blake provoked acts of revulsion in Wisconsin and other parts of the country. On Tuesday night, a 17-year-old man killed two people in Kenosha during those protests and was then able to escape without being detained until hours later.
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Finally arrested in Illinois, he did not appear today at the hearing on his extradition. He is already formally charged with murder and will be tried as an adult in Wisconsin. He could be sentenced to life imprisonment.
Kyle Rittenhouse, as he is called, used a semiautomatic rifle to shoot Joeseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, who died. In addition, Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, was also injured. Videos on social networks indicate that the alleged murderer praised the use of firearms, the police and the president, Donald Trump, in his publications on the internet.
Two people die in protests against racism in Wisconsin
Aug. 26, 202002: 52The Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has demanded the resignation of the Kenosha police chief after he appears to hold the victims responsible for violating the curfew imposed to stop protests.
He has also requested the departure of the Kenosha County Sheriff, David Beth, who, in another incident unrelated to the previous ones, opted to lock up for life three young black men accused of stealing clothes so that they could not have children and live of the rest of citizens could "be better", according to The Washington Post.