As it stands right now, all we have is a very short video showing the Kenosha police shooting of Jacob Blake. It shows at least two officers giving the man commands and pointing firearms at him. He ignores their commands, defiantly walking away and attempts to enter a vehicle and reach down as an officer attempts to physically pull him from entering the vehicle. Blake is subsequently shot by an officer. Seven shots are heard in the video. The fact that it appears two officers had their weapons drawn tells us more than one officer recognized an imminent fear of death or great bodily harm to themselves or others.
There is absolutely not enough information at this time for anyone to make an informed decision regarding this incident yet. So often video is released, rioting begins, and only afterwards, we find out that the officer was completely justified in the use of deadly force. For example, watch the body cam video of the recent Sheboygan police shooting.
Gov. Evers’ premature statement was reckless and insulting to law enforcement. The statement regarding the Kenosha police shooting was not based on any facts of what happened. We find his use of the words “mercilessly killed” to be even more appalling. Once again, we have a liberal in a position of leadership attempting to pander to Black Lives Matter, but instead causing even more pain, confusion and destruction. Read our column on Evers’ statement.
Perhaps, when all of the facts are out regarding this Kenosha police shooting it will end up being a bad shoot. We don’t know that yet. Yes, the video, at first glance, raises concerns. However, there’s too much we don’t know. All we have is a very short video showing the Kenosha police shooting of Jacob Blake. We need to know more, including any other video or witness statements and the statements of the officer himself. We don’t know that yet. There’s too much we don’t know.
The Kenosha Police Shooting Information We Need To Know:
To properly assess the shooting, we need to know the answers to many questions, including:
- Did Blake have or have access to a weapon?
- Why were the officers called to the scene, and what information did they know or not know?
- What actions or statements did Blake, victims or witnesses at the scene say or do?
- What the officers saw and knew.
- Did the officers have reason to believe a weapon was in the vehicle? (Remember that state law requires reasonable belief, not the presence of an actual weapon)
- The history of Blake and what officers knew of him
- Was anyone else in the car?
- Was Blake, as Governor Evers said, shot “in the back”?
- Two screenshots raise questions about what Blake had in his right hand while walking away and of a possible object that fell from the car as Blake was shot.
Did an object fall from the car at about 13 seconds into the video?
Did Blake have something in his hand? What was it?
A few key points that emerged after we first wrote this column from a DOJ report: Officers tried first to use a taser on Blake, but it didn’t work. Officers found a knife on the driver’s side floorboard of the car Blake was getting into. They haven’t yet said whether they think he was carrying it as he walked toward the car. A witness says he heard officers say “drop the knife.” The officer’s attorney now says that the officer feared Blake was going to abduct a child in the car. The officer claims Blake had the knife in his hand and twisted toward him, according to CNN. A second officer gave a similar account.
Jake Blake has an extremely disturbing banner on his Facebook page depicting police officers in a squad with pig and demon faces. He also had an open warrant. A previous gun incident involving a Jacob Blake of the same age bears similarities, as the man resisted and a K9 was needed to get control. That may tell us a little about Blake’s mindset and what he said or did on the scene that caused the officers concern.
It is very possible that these officers saved their own lives or the lives of others. We must, however, wait for the facts before we draw any conclusion.
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