MADISON (Wis.) - Federal prosecutors announced Friday they will not file charges against Jacob Blake, a white officer who shot him in Wisconsin last year. The shooting sparked protests that resulted in the deaths of two other men.
Blake was shot by Officer Rusten Sheskey in August 2020 during a domestic disturbance. Blake was left paralysed from the waist down. The shooting triggered several nights of protests that eventually turned violent . During one of the protests, an Illinois man killed two and shot three others.
After video revealed that Blake was armed and dangerously armed, the state prosecutors decided not file any charges against Sheskey.
After the shooting, the U.S. Department of Justice began its own investigation. Friday's announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice stated that a team from the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Milwaukee examined police reports, witness statements and dispatch logs. They concluded there was not enough evidence to show Sheskey used excessive force, or violated Blake's federal rights.
"Accordingly, this incident has been reviewed without a federal prosecution," said the Justice Department in a news release.
Justin Blake, Blake's uncle, called the decision unconscionable and stated that it "definitely steps upon every civil right we imagine this country owes any African American descendant."
He said, "If we had hearts to break, it would be." "But because of all that we've gone through, we are not."
The Justice Department's findings are in line with the January determination by Michael Graveley, Kenosha County District attorney. Sheskey could argue that he fired in self defense.
Blake was reported by Sheskey and other officers to Sheskey. The woman informed them that Blake was trying her to get her children and her SUV.
Blake was a fight with the officers who tried to take Blake into custody. Sheskey and another officer attempted to shock Blake with their stun guns, but to no avail. Blake attempted to climb into the SUV while his children were in the backseat. Sheskey grabbed his shirt. Sheskey said that Blake was threatening to drive off with his children or take them hostage.
Graveley stated that video shows Blake moving toward Sheskey using a knife. Sheskey was then prompted to fire.
Three months after George Floyd's death, the shooting took place while white Minneapolis police officers held him back. Black Lives Matter supporters inundated Kenosha over several nights with demonstrators setting fires to cars and buildings. Governor Tony Evers had to call in the National Guard.
Antioch, Illinois resident Kyle Rittenhouse answered a call from a local militia to defend Kenosha businesses against looters and vandals in the third night. He shot Joseph Rosenbaum, Anthony Huber, and Gaige Grosskreutz killing Rosenbaum and Huber, and injuring Grosskreutz in his arm. All four of the men were white.
Rittenhouse was charged by the prosecution with multiple charges, including homicide. He argues that he fired in self defense after three men attacked and assaulted him. Next month, he will stand trial.
Conservatives dissatisfied with Black Lives Matter protests rallied around Rittenhouse. They raised $2 million for his bail. Black Lives Matter supporters paint him as a trigger-happy vigilante, who brought a gun to the protests in Kenosha.
