Man Shot by Kenosha Police in ‘Serious Condition’

Jacob Blake, the man shot in the back by Kenosha police officers responding to a “domestic incident,” is in “serious condition,” according to an update from the Kenosha Police Department.

Violent protests erupted in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the police-involved shooting of a black man, identified by Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) as Jacob Blake. According to reports, police were responding to a “domestic incident.” Several witnesses say Blake was attempting to break up a fight between two women “and that police had attempted to use a Taser on the man prior to the shooting,” according to Kenosha News.

The viral video of the Sunday evening shooting incident shows the man walking to a vehicle in the street as officers raise their weapons at him.

“As the man opened the driver’s side door and leaned inside, one officer grabbed his shirt from behind and then fired into the vehicle. Seven shots could be heard on the video, though it was unclear if more than one officer fired,” the Associated Press reported.

Benjamin Crump, an attorney working with Blake’s family, said the man’s three children were in the car at the time of the shooting:

Confirmed: Jacob Blake’s 3 SONS were IN THE CAR he was getting into when @KenoshaPolice shot him tonight. They saw a cop shoot their father. They will be traumatized forever. We cannot let officers violate their duty to PROTECT us. Our kids deserve better!! #JusticeForJacobBlake

— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) August 24, 2020

The Kenosha Police Department affirmed that officers “immediately provided medical aid to the person who was shot.”

Blake is currently in “serious condition” in the ICU. According to CBS News, “Family friend Daniel Poneman tweeted that Blake is out of surgery, in the ICU and is ‘expected to make it.'”

The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is investigating the incident.

Per the Department:

DCI is leading this investigation and is assisted by Wisconsin State Patrol and Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office. All involved law enforcement are fully cooperating with DCI during this investigation. The involved officers have been placed on administrative leave.

DCI is continuing to review evidence and determine the facts of this incident and will turn over investigative reports to a prosecutor following a complete and thorough investigation.

If members of the public have any further information regarding this incident, please contact law enforcement.
When DCI is the lead investigating agency of a shooting involving a law enforcement officer, DCI aims to provide a report of the incident to the prosecutor within 30 days. The prosecutor then reviews the report and makes a determination about what charges, if any, are appropriate. If the prosecutor determines there is no basis for prosecution of the law enforcement officer, DCI will thereafter make the report available to the public.