icon bookmark-bicon bookmarkicon cameraicon checkicon chevron downicon chevron lefticon chevron righticon chevron upicon closeicon v-compressicon downloadicon editicon v-expandicon fbicon fileicon filtericon flag ruicon full chevron downicon full chevron lefticon full chevron righticon full chevron upicon gpicon insicon mailicon moveicon-musicicon mutedicon nomutedicon okicon v-pauseicon v-playicon searchicon shareicon sign inicon sign upicon stepbackicon stepforicon swipe downicon tagicon tagsicon tgicon trashicon twicon vkicon yticon wticon fm
6 Jan, 2021 09:51

Kenosha shops braced for riots after Wisconsin clears cop of crippling black man in shooting

Tension is running high in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after state prosecutors decided not to press charges against a police officer, who left a black man paralyzed from the waist down by shooting him seven times in the back.

The city of 100,000 located between Milwaukee and Chicago is bracing itself for possible riots on Wednesday, with shop owners protecting windows with boards and heavy law enforcement presence in the streets. Earlier on Monday, Governor Tony Evers announced he had mobilized about 500 Wisconsin National Guard troops to assist the authorities in Kenosha.

On Tuesday, Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley announced that officer Rusten Sheskey acted in self-defense in August during a confrontation with Jacob Blake Jr. Sheskey fired seven shots at Blake as he was getting into his car. The incident was filmed on a phone camera and triggered a deadly wave of protests in the city, adding to nationwide anger over police brutality and racism.

Graveley said the viral footage did not give a complete picture of what had happened, and that the investigation confirmed that Blake was armed with a knife during his face-off with the police and that he was resisting arrest under a warrant when he was shot.

“I do not believe the state… would be able to prove that the privilege of self-defense is not available,” Graveley said.

The judgment was met with disappointment and anger by many people, who see it as the latest example of police not being held accountable for targeting the black community with excessive force.

The Milwaukee-based basketball team, Marquette, protested the decision by wearing black uniforms with the slogan “Black Lives Matter” for a game and took the knee before it.

Some people challenged Graveley’s description of events and insisted that Blake was unarmed when he was shot in front of his children. “The video made it clear that Jacob ... never raised a knife,” said B’Ivory LaMarr, one of the lawyers for the Blake family.

Adding to the fury is a related case of Kyle Rittenhouse, a white 18-year-old, who shot and killed two men and injured another during a protest over Blake’s death in Kenosha. He insists he acted in self-defense and has pleaded not guilty on all charges before the Kenosha County Circuit Court.

Rittenhouse was released on a $2 million bail in November, after a crowdfunding campaign in his defense led by his attorneys. He was charged with first-degree reckless homicide and five other criminal counts. Jury selection for his trial is set to begin in late March.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!

Podcasts
0:00
26:13
0:00
24:57