2021-01-06 15:57:36
In Kenosha, Wisconsin, District Attorney Michael Graveley has announced that no charges will be filed against the white police officer who fired seven shots at Jacob Blake, paralyzing the 29-year-old Black man in August.
Officer Rusten Sheskey fired the shots at point-blank range into Blake’s back as he leaned into his car, with his three children, aged 3, 5 and 8, inside the vehicle.
Prosecutors maintain the shooting was in self-defense because Blake had a small knife in the car. Video of Blake’s shooting sparked an uprising in Kenosha in August against systemic racism and police brutality.
Blake’s family denounced the ruling. “In this situation, again, we see a miscarriage of justice,” says Wisconsin state Representative David Bowen.
“We do not see a DA that is able to charge an officer who uses his discretion to put seven shots in the back of a Black man.”
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