Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers called in the National Guard Monday as protests continued in Kenosha for a second night following the police shooting on Sunday of Jacob Blake, an unarmed 29-year-old Black man.
An officer shot Blake seven times in the back as he was getting into a car. His three children — ages 3, 5 and 8 — witnessed the shooting. Blake was reportedly trying to break up a fight between two women before the shooting, but the police have not explained why they went after him. He remained hospitalized in serious but stable condition Monday. Protesters defied a curfew Monday night as police used tear gas on crowds. Protests also took place across the country, including here in New York City.
Governor Tony Evers and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes called state lawmakers into a special session to take up legislation on police brutality that was introduced earlier in the year. This is Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes.
Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes: “This was not an accident. This wasn’t bad police work. This felt like some sort of vendetta being taken out on a member of our community. The officer’s daily actions attempted to take a person’s life in broad daylight. And like many of you, the video is etched into my mind, like so many other past videos that are just like it. It was a video that I would have rather not had to have watched. But the irony isn’t lost on me. That is, Jacob Blake was actually trying to deescalate a situation in his community, but the responding officer didn’t feel the need to do the same.”
