It’s been 2 months since the Jacob Blake investigation file was turned over to the independent consultant.
So what’s taking so long?
That’s the question Wisconsin Right Now asked Kenosha County DA Mike Graveley regarding the Jacob Blake shooting investigation. We also wanted to know when we can expect a charging decision. Graveley told us on December 7 that there’s a “massive amount of material to review” including about “1500 pages of reports and about 60 hours of video as well as a massive amount of other electronic evidence” Graveley continued that they are making steady progress but that he does not have a timetable when the review will be completed. Graveley assured us that the amount of time required to complete the review will be fully explained at the time a decision is announced.
Here’s the timeline:
August 23: Officer Rusten Sheskey shot Jacob Blake, 29, seven times after responding to a call about a domestic incident. Sheskey tried to keep Blake from getting into his car by grabbing Blake’s shirt. Three of Blake’s children were in the car. Blake has said he had a knife, which was found on the floorboard of the vehicle. Blake was flown to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee. He was paralyzed from the waist down.
September 21: Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley announced at a news conference that former Madison Police Chief, Noble Wray, was being brought in during the “final stages” of the investigation as an independent consultant for prosecutors weighing charges against the Kenosha officer who shot Blake.
October 7: The DOJ wrapped up the investigation and handed the file, which contained more than 170 investigative reports, as well as video, audio recordings and photos, over to Wray.
The DOJ has said that the Jacob Blake investigation report will be made public if Graveley decides not to charge Sheskey, and there are no other reasons to not release it.
