Wisconsin AG refuses to say whether Jacob Blake was armed or not: 'Justice will be served'

Wisconsin AG refuses to say whether Jacob Blake was armed or not: 'Justice will be served'

Wisconsin AG refuses to say whether Jacob Blake was armed or not: ‘Justice will be served’

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“The commitment I make to everyone, the family, the officer, everyone is justice will be served. People will be held responsible for their actions, and we will know the truth.”

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KENOSHA, WI –On August 23rd, Kenosha Police responded to a residence where Jacob Blake was located.  At some point, according to viral video, it is clear that Blake was refusing to listen to orders given to him and he continued to walk away from officers. 

At some point, an officer is seen on video shooting Blake in the back. 

What is not clear is whether he was armed – and whether he was going to his vehicle to get a gun.

The state attorney general refuses to answer questions surrounding that.

On August 23rd, police were dispatched to an unexplained domestic violence situation at the home.  As officers were on scene trying to do their investigation, Raysean White, the person who shot the viral video, told NBC News:

“Then the guy [Blake] that got shot showed up.  He pulled up in his truck, got out of his truck, seen him walk up.  His son was running towards him.  He was picking up his son.  He told his son to get in the grey tuck, we about to go.”

White said that he looked outside again and saw officers struggling with Blake and one of the officers firing her Taser.  That is when White began recording the video of the incident. 

The video clearly shows Blake refusing to stop and obey orders based upon them following him with weapons drawn. 

At one point in the video, it appears as if he has a knife in his right hand, but, because of his dark colored shorts and the graininess of the video, it is difficult to make out.  

Blake continued walking toward the drivers side door of the vehicle which contained his three children in the backseat.

White said he could hear officers “yelling drop the knife.  I didn’t see any weapons in his hands, he wasn’t being violent.” 

The people in the area were yelling at as officers tried to stop Blake from getting into the vehicle.  One officer, with gun drawn, grabs Blake by the shirt, trying to prevent him from entering the car, while yelling at him to stop.

Just as he grabs his shirt, Blake is seen leaning inside the car, apparently going to the floorboard or map pocket of the door.  The officer then opens fire multiple times, striking Blake. 

Police are immediately seen providing medical aid to Blake on the sidewalk as other officers attempt to keep bystanders away.

Blake was airlifted to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee where he underwent surgery for the gunshot wounds.  Blake’s family has said that he has gotten out of surgery and is listed in stable condition. 

Blake, who has a history of assaulting police officers and resisting arrest, had an active warrant out against him at the time of the incident. 

According to Wisconsin Circuit Court records, Blake had a warrant for misdemeanor criminal trespass to a dwelling with domestic abuse as a modifier, felony third-degree sexual assault with domestic abuse as a modifier, and misdemeanor disorderly conduct with domestic abuse as a modifier. 

Blake also had violent run ins with law enforcement in the past.  In 2015, Racine Police were called to assist with allegedly removing Blake who had refused to leave a bar and pulled a gun. 

The criminal complaint in that incident said that Blake and two women were together at a bar called the Brass Monkey.  At some point, Blake began to argue with a man who was in the bar and allegedly pulled a black handgun.

Blake pointed the gun at the victim placing him in fear that he was about to be shot.  As he was pointing the gun at the victim, the magazine fell out and struck the floor. 

An employee in the bar told Blake to leave and he refused, point the gun at other customers inside.  He then left the area in his vehicle which was located by police and stopped.

Since they were told that Blake was armed, they performed a high-risk traffic stop and ordered him to place his hands outside of the window.  Blake refused and exited the car instead, approaching officer. 

Officers ordered him several times to stop and get on the ground and he refused.  Officers had to physically take him down to the ground to attempt to handcuff him, although he refused to give them his hands, forcing them to utilize a police dog and when then able to take him into custody.

Police located a black firearm in the vehicle he was driving as well as a holster that was on Blake’s person.  Blake also allegedly had two loaded magazines and a box of ammunition in the coat he was wearing when he was taken into custody. 

Despite Blake’s apparent violent past and warrant, people of the community want to automatically believe that the shooting was unprovoked. 

Let’s look at the facts:

-There is at least one shot in the video where it appears he may be armed

-He had violent warrants out for his arrest

-He had already physically resisted officers trying to take him into custody

-He refused numerous lawful orders to stop

-Witnesses heard officers yelling to drop ‘the knife’

-It appears Blake was attempting to take something off of his floorboard or map pocket prior to the shots being fired. 

The viral video and word of the shooting sparked protests around the area.  Violent protesters began lighting fires and attacking police vehicles.  The violent protests continued through most of the night.

Police are not releasing much information, stating that they have turned the investigation over to the state Justice Department’s criminal investigations division.  The State Attorney General Josh Kaul released a statement:

“The Wisconsin Department of Justice is vigorously and thoroughly investigating yesterday’s officer-involved shooting in Kenosha.  As with all investigations we conduct, we will unwaveringly pursue justice in this case.”

Democrat Wisconsin Governor, Tony Evers, released a statement alluding that the officers are guilty before an investigation has even been completed.  He said:

“Tonight, Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Kathy and I join his family, friends, and neighbors in hoping earnestly that he will not succumb to his injuries.  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 our state or our country

…And we stand against excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging with Black Wisconsinites.” 

Here’s more on the second night of riots that have left the city up in flames:

KENOSHA, WI – The second night of unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin brought extensive damage – and widespread destruction against the black business district.

The Department of Corrections building was one of the first to fall.  And with it, seemingly symbolically, fell the American flag.

The riots were sparked by the shooting of a man with an arrest warrant for everything from domestic violence to sexual assault.

What started as a peaceful demonstration, like many, turned violent hours into the curfew.

Arsonists torched commercial and government buildings and car dealership lots.

As the crowd of rioters grew into the hundreds, police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and smoke bombs to disperse them.

Protester Porche Bennett, 31, of Kenosha told Reuters that the instigators she saw were white – and not from the city.

“It’s people from out of town doing this. We’ve been shopping there since we were kids and they set it on fire,” Bennett said.

Imagery on social media showed rioters who were both white and black. 

You could see black men smashing traffic signals and street lamps with baseball bats and both white and black men smashing in windshields and headlights of a row of cars.

Reuters reported that one white man riding a skateboard doused a government truck with an accelerant and torched it.

In the meantime, another huge group of rioters launched fireworks and frozen water bottles at police in front of the courthouse.

Here’s the backstory.

Late Sunday, August 23, pervasive looting and vicious riots broke out in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in reaction to the shooting of an African American male by police officers.

On August 23, Kenosha Police responded to a report of domestic violence, where Jacob Blake, a 24-year-old, of Kenosha was the suspect.

Blake is an African American who has a violent criminal history. There was also a warrant issued for his arrest on July 7, 2020. The arrest warrant is for domestic violence, sexual assault, and disorderly conduct.

According to the Daily Wire News, Journalist Drew Hernandez commented that those doing the rioting and looting were Black Lives Matter (BLM) members. BLM also posted various tweets and videos regarding the vicious rioting on Twitter.

The looting and rioting caused a lot of property damage.

Democrat Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers was quick to condemn the police about the shooting of Blake late on Sunday. Blake had been shot earlier in the day by police while responding to a domestic violence incident. Even though Evers didn’t have the complete details of the incident, he still criticized the police for the shooting.

Evers said:

“Tonight, Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kathy and I join his family, friends, and neighbors in hoping earnestly that he will not succumb to his injuries.

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 hand of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country.”

Evers added:

“And we stand against excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging with Black Wisconsinites. I have said all along that although we must offer our empathy, equally important is our action. In the coming days, we will demand just that of elected officials in our state who have failed to recognize the racism in our state and our country for far too long.”

The video of the shooting went viral online. It showed that something happened while police were engaged with Blake as they drew their weapons on him. According to Heavy.com, the police had an arrest warrant for Blake.

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The Wisconsin Circuit Court records reveal that Jacob S. Blake who is the same age as the male, with the same address as the block where Blake was shot, had a warrant issued on July 7.

This warrant suspected Blake of misdemeanor criminal trespass to a dwelling with domestic abuse; felony third degree sexual assault with domestic abuse; and misdemeanor disorderly conduct with domestic abuse.

In 2015, the Racine Eye newspaper wrote a story about how:

“Racine police say K9 Dozer had to help officers take a man into custody when the man refused to go quietly into custody after he pulled a gun at a local bar.”

Jacob Blake was that man involved in both the incident in 2015 and on Sunday, August 23, 2020.

In the bar incident, Blake was charged with a felony count of resisting arrest causing a soft tissue injury to a police officer, and a misdemeanor count for carrying a concealed weapon, one count for carrying a firearm while intoxicated, endangering safety-use of a dangerous weapon, and disorderly conduct.

These charges were not found on the circuit court website.

The Daily Wire reported:

“The Kenosha Police Department released a statement following the shooting that said that officers were called to the 2800 block of 40th Street, which appears to be the same street that was listed on the arrest warrant that had been issued, to respond to a domestic incident. The Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is investigating the incident.”

Police officials stated that police on scene provided aid to Blake who was transported to a local hospital. Blake is in serious condition.

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About The Author

I am a proud husband to a wife who works in education and the father to two wonderful children. My first focus is on my family and spending time with them, my second is on my career. I am a current law enforcement lieutenant and have been an officer for over twenty years. Chris Elliot is a pen name for safety reasons.

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