Protests break out in Wisconsin after unarmed black man shot in front of children
Two officers are on leave while shooting victim remains in ICU fighting for his life
Cell Phone video shot by: Raysean White
(CNN) — Rage spilled onto the street in Kenosha Wisconsin after his attorney says at least one police officer opened fire shooting a black man in the back in front of his children.
As Whitney Wild reports, two Wisconsin police officers have been placed on leave as state authorities investigate why a Black man was shot multiple times in the back as he entered the driver’s side door of an SUV, officials said.
The man’s three children three, five and 8 — were in the car, a family attorney said.
Identified by the governor as Jacob Blake, the man is in stable condition in an intensive care unit, according to attorney Ben Crump, who represents the Blake family. Crump posted a video of the Sunday evening shooting in Kenosha.
The footage spread across social media, sparking protests and leading county officials to institute a curfew that remained in place until Monday morning. Another will be instituted from 8 p.m. Monday until 7 a.m. Tuesday morning, according to the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department.
Mayor John Antaramian confirmed the National Guard has been called to the city. Troops will be focused on supporting the needs of local first responders and law enforcement “to protect critical infrastructure and cultural institutions,” Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement.
Kenosha police have asked the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation — part of the state’s Department of Justice — to take over the investigation into the shooting. The findings will go to District Attorney Michael D. Graveley. His office will determine whether to bring any charges against the officers. Graveley said the investigation is in “its earliest stages.”
The shooting came as demonstrators continue to decry police violence in American cities, including the encounters that killed George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The night before Blake’s shooting, protests erupted in Lafayette, Louisiana, after police killed a Black man — Trayford Pellerin, 31 — outside a convenience store.
In Kenosha, a city of 100,000 located on the Lake Michigan coastline between Chicago and Milwaukee, protesters overnight broke windows and sprayed graffiti at a Kenosha County administrative building, according to CNN affiliate WISN.
Vehicles at a nearby auto dealership were torched, a fire was started at a county courthouse and officers in tactical gear formed a line to protect a public safety building, the station reported.
Before the sun rose Monday, numerous dump and garbage trucks remained smoldering on the street after being set ablaze. The courthouse and administrative building were closed Monday, and all court hearings for the day are postponed, the county said on Facebook.
“We believe in justice and therefore justice means for everyone. We will hold the police and the public accountable” Antaramian said during a press conference Monday. “What occurred last night in the city of Kenosha is unacceptable. Rioting and looting is something that is not acceptable to the community.”
