KENOSHA, Wis. _ The National Guard was out, smoke tinged the air, and word came that a Black man with gunshot wounds lay paralyzed in the hospital.
Almost three months after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, protests and violence were reignited in cities across the U.S. this week after a video showed a police officer appearing to shoot 29-year-old Jacob Blake in the back as he entered his SUV on a residential street in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Hundreds gathered overnight in this city of 100,000, in defiance of an 8 p.m. curfew, for a second night of protests. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as demonstrators chanted, "No justice, no peace," in front of the county courthouse. Protesters hurled bottles and fireworks at police. A probation office was burned, and residents woke up Tuesday to see a church, a furniture store and other small businesses still smoldering from blazes hours earlier.
Officers took to the streets Tuesday evening as demonstrations grew in Portland, Oregon; New York City; and Washington, D.C. In Minneapolis, police made 11 arrests after groups broke the windows at the county jail. In Seattle, protesters lighted a fire in front of a police precinct and smashed the windows of a Starbucks. Hundreds also rallied in Madison, the Wisconsin state capital, clashing with police.
Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, who has summoned 125 National Guard members to Kenosha, and city officials are bracing for a third night of protests. Uptown Kenosha, the site of much of the damage, was cut off from car traffic, and the county courthouse, a focal point of demonstrations, was closed Tuesday.
A family lawyer said Blake is paralyzed from the waist down. Benjamin Crump, who also represents the Floyd family, called it a "miracle" that he was still alive.
Crump said that Blake's sons, ages 3, 5 and 8, were in the SUV as police shot Blake. The lawyer, who said officers had used a Taser on Blake before the shooting, called the officers "irresponsible, reckless and inhumane."
Speaking to the Chicago Sun-Times, Blake's father, who is also named Jacob Blake, said his son had "eight holes" from bullets in his body and that doctors were unsure whether his paralysis is permanent.
The shooting occurred around 5 p.m. Sunday when police responded to a domestic dispute. In a bystander video, two officers follow Blake as he walks around to the driver's side of a gray SUV. As he is reaching to open the door, the closest officer grabs Blake's tank top. Shots are heard in the video before the car horn beeps continuously as Blake falls onto it.
Kenosha police do not wear body cameras, though they do have microphones. The bystander video, which quickly spread across social media that evening, is the only one of the shooting to appear so far.
Two officers are now on administrative leave, a standard practice after police shootings. An investigation by state authorities is underway.
Blake reportedly was getting one of his children from a home near where his car was parked. Bystanders said they believed they heard police yell at Blake to drop a knife. Crump said Blake was "simply trying to do the right thing by intervening in a domestic incident."
Police have not said if Blake had a weapon or why police fired. They gave no details on whether Blake was involved in the domestic dispute.
The police union said it was too early to judge the shooting.
"As always, the video currently circulating does not capture all the intricacies of a highly dynamic incident," Pete Deates, president of the Kenosha Professional Police Association, said in a statement. "We ask that you withhold from passing judgment until all the facts are known and released."
Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley is investigating the shooting alongside the Wisconsin Justice Department's division of criminal investigation. The department said it will release its report to the district attorney within 30 days.
The shooting and protests have shaken Kenosha, an otherwise quiet city halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee on Lake Michigan that was once an auto manufacturing center. The city is majority white, with 11.5% of residents who are Black and 17.6% who are Latino.
In June, protests erupted in Kenosha after Floyd's death, but residents said this week's demonstrations and violence have far eclipsed those marches.
As protests grew Sunday night and cars were set on fire, Evers called in the National Guard to "protect critical infrastructure, such as utilities and fire stations and to ensure Kenoshians are able to assemble safely." The guard arrived Monday evening and will be out again Tuesday night.
Evers also spoke out against the shooting. While saying he awaited more details, Evers said, "What we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country."
Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, said he called for "an immediate, full and transparent investigation." Biden said the officers "must be held accountable."
President Donald Trump, who was scheduled to appear Tuesday for the second day of the Republican National Convention, had not spoken about the shooting as of Tuesday afternoon. His chief of staff, Mark Meadows, said he was "certain" the president would be "briefed on the full matter."
"It's too early to tell in terms of what actually happened from what I was briefed on," Meadows said. "Obviously the video tells a story that is troubling and yet, at the same time, we'll get a full briefing within the next couple of hours."
