Police Shoot Black Man In The Back Multiple Times In Front Of His Kids

Jacob Blake was shot in the back at least 7 times

Amid nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism, two Wisconsin police officers have been put on leave today as the Wisconsin Department of Justice investigates a police shooting Sunday night where a Black man was shot multiple times in the back. His three children — ages three, five, and eight — were in the car at the time of the incident, CBS News reported.

The man has been identified as Jacob Blake, 29, according to Governor Tony Evers, who said Blake was “shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight.” Graphic video of the shooting went around social media prompting immediate protests and more calls to defund the police.

The shooting happened around 5 p.m. on Sunday when officers responded to calls of a domestic incident. Video shows Blake walking away from police officers who were seen pointing their weapons at Blake. He approached an SUV and opened the driver’s side door when an officer grabbed the back of his shirt, and opened fire, landing at least seven shots into Blake’s back.

Attorney Benjamin Crump, a prominent civil rights lawyer who is also representing George Floyd’s family, responded to the shooting by saying in part, “We will seek justice for Jacob Blake and for his family as we demand answers from the Kenosha Police Department.”

The shooting sparked outrage in Kenosha, which is located nearly 40 miles south of Milwaukee, as protesters gathered at the scene of the shooting.

“As always, the video currently circulating does not capture all the intricacies of a highly dynamic incident. We ask that you withhold from passing judgement until all the facts are known and released,” said Pete Deates, president of the Kenosha Professional Police Association.

Blake was critically injured in the shooting, said Gov. Tony Evers, and is currently in Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee. “Tonight, Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight,” Evers said in a statement. “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 a statement announcing the family had retained him, Crump said Blake was trying to “deescalate a domestic incident when police drew their weapons and tasered him. As he was walking away to check on his children, police fired their weapons several times into his back at point blank range. Blake’s three sons were only a few feet away and witnessed police shoot their father.”