By Aaron Miller
A U.S civil rights probe into the shooting of Jacob Blake has been launched following protests The U.S police officer who shot mr Blake on Sunday, August 23 has been named as Kenosha Police Officer Rusten Sheskey.
Sheskey, who had reportedly been with the Kenosha Police Department for seven years, shot Blake seven times in the back while holding onto his shirt, a statement shared by Attorney General Josh Kaul of the Wisconsin Department of Justice confirmed.
Two of the officers present have been placed on administrative leave, and the other officers involved in the shooting will be identified soon, the state’s attorney general said. None of the other officers at the scene fired their weapons.
All of the law enforcement agents associated with the incident are cooperating fully with Wisconsin Department of Justice (WDJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) investigators. The officers involved in this incident have since been placed on administrative leave.
Officers were dispatched to a home in Kenosha after a woman called police saying “her boyfriend was present and was not supposed to be on the premises,” the DCI said.
The 29 year old victim of the brutal shooting is currently in hospital and has admitted having a knife in his possession. DCI agents found a knife from the driver’s side floorboard of his car following a search of his vehicle.
The statement went on to explain that officers were reportedly dispatched to a residence close to 28th Street and 40th Avenue, after a woman reported her boyfriend was present but was not supposed to be at the premises.
WDJ statement reads:
During the incident, officers attempted to arrest Jacob S Blake, age 29. Law enforcement deployed a taser to attempt to stop Mr Blake, however the taser was not successful in stopping Mr Blake.
Mr Blake walked around his vehicle, opened the driver’s side door, and leaned forward. While holding onto Mr Blake’s shirt, officer Rusten Sheskey fired his service weapon seven times. Officer Sheskey fired the weapon into Mr Blake’s back.
No other officer fired their weapon. Kenosha Police Department does not have body cameras, therefore the officers were not wearing body cameras”.
Domestic Incident
Officers were called to a domestic incident Sunday evening, police said. A woman called saying “her boyfriend was present and was not supposed to be on the premises,” according to investigators from the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation.
The incident reveals a struggle between Blake and police. Blake can be seen walking around the front of an SUV and trying to enter the driver’s side door. An officer is seen pulling Blake’s tank top and seven shots are heard. Blake’s three children were in the ve